Brazil could cut 26% of GHG emissions from deforestation via intensification of livestock production
"Brazil may be able to curb up to 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation by encouraging the intensification of its cattle production, according to a new study from researchers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and international collaborators. Credit: David Ozolin via Flickr (Creative Commons License)
The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that by subsidizing semi-intensive pasture-based cattle production or taxing conventional pastures Brazil may be able to deliver a substantial cut in global greenhouse gas emissions, even in the absence of a global agreement to prevent deforestation.
Brazil is the world's second largest producer of beef and the world's largest exporter of beef. Cattle pastures occupy one quarter of the land surface in Brazil, including as much as 80% of recently deforested land. Brazil has lost more forestland than any other country in the past 20 years. Worldwide, deforestation contributes to as much as 20% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions."
"Brazilian Agricultural Policy could Cut Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions," International Institute for Applied Systems Sciences, last modified April 25 2014, accessed June 3, 2014, http://www.iiasa.ac.at/web/home/about/news/201400428-PNAS-Cohn.html.