Mitigating Agricultural Methane: Relevance, Potential and Policy Options

Methane emissions are becoming increasingly central to climate policy debates. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with a relatively short atmospheric lifetime. Reducing methane emissions not only contributes to climate neutrality but can also slow warming in the coming decades. For this reason, more than 100 countries launched the Global Methane Pledge in 2021, committing to reducing global methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030. Major dairy producers and food companies have likewise announced ambitious methane reduction targets.

Agriculture is the largest source of methane emissions in the European Union (EU), primarily from livestock production. While emissions from the sector declined during the 1990s and early 2000s, progress has stalled over the past decade. Currently, there is a lively discussion on how the contribution of agricultural methane to warming should be understood and reflected in climate and agricultural policies.

With this conference, we aim to address three key elements of the debate on agricultural methane:

• The relevance of biogenic methane for global warming.  
• The mitigation potential of technologies and practices as part of a methane reduction strategy. 
• The policy frameworks needed to incentivise on-farm methane mitigation in the EU livestock sector and create economically viable pathways for farmers. 

Our goal for the conference is a solution-oriented dialogue with representatives from science, politics, agriculture and the food industry, as well as civil society, incorporating natural scientific, economic and political aspects.

Programme highlights

1. Keynote: Why methane matters? (by Andy Reisinger, Professor Australian National University) 

2. Scientific panel: The role of agricultural methane in climate change with Myles Allan (University of Oxford), Vera Eory (Scotland's Rural College) and Andy Reisinger (Australian National University)

3. New Findings: Preliminary results from a new study by Agora Agriculture and partners on the potential of methane mitigation measures

4. On-farm experiences: Insights from farmers on implementing mitigation measures

5. Economic opportunities: Creating business cases for reducing methane on farms (farmers’ and business perspectives) 

6. Policy framework: The EU livestock strategy and the ingredients of an enabling policy mix (key stakeholders and policymaker panel) 

Language
The event will be held in English with simultaneous interpretation into German.

Contact
Content: nikolai.pushkarev(at)agora-agrar.de
Organisation: grace.williams(at)agora-thinktanks.org