Evaluation of the livestock sector’s contribution to the EU greenhouse gas emissions

The FAO report ‘Livestock long shadow: environmental issues and options’ (2006) claims that livestock production is a major contributor to the world's environmental problems, contributing about 18% to global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, although highly variable across the world. FAO (2010) asserts that the global dairy sector contributes with 3.0%-5.1% to total anthropogenic GHG emissions. The FAO studies are based on a food-chain approach, bringing into light also contributions normally ‘hidden’ in other sectors when the internationally agreed methodology of GHG emissions accounting within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is used.

The objective of the GGELS project was to provide an estimate of the net emissions of GHGs and ammonia (NH3) from livestock sector in the EU-27 according to animal species, animal products and livestock systems following a food chain approach.