Now he says a modest 30% cut in methane will be ruinous for gas production. When it comes to methane (which is the main constituent of so-called “natural” gas), Taylor has argued that capturing methane and storing it underground will keep the industry viable in a net zero future. When the government launched its “Making Positive Energy” campaign, one of the technologies touted was a seaweed feed “that reduces the production of methane by more than 80% and has the potential to increase livestock productivity”.Īs this column has covered, the government’s messaging made the supplement sound like it was already on the market, and there are some big caveats around the speed and scale of possible cuts.īut given the government is putting all its faith in technological advances to get Australia to net zero by 2050, it seems striking it should suddenly be giving off such negative energy about its own positive energy campaign. Judging by Taylor’s comments, the Morrison government has suddenly lost faith in its hopes that technology will bring Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions spiralling downwards.
The industry says it will improve productivity, use feed supplements and increase tree planting to get there, among other steps.Īnd according to MLA, carbon neutrality “doesn’t need to come at the cost of livestock numbers”, after looking at a study from CSIRO. Taylor does not mention that Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) has a goal to reach net zero emissions across the industry by 2030.
The most revealing aspect of Taylor’s comment piece, though, is what he leaves out.Īustralia’s meat and livestock industry accounts for about 10% of the country’s emissions, most of them coming in the form of methane produced by burping livestock.
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