CEFC and Paraway Pastoral make landmark commitment to support Global Methane Pledge
Summary
Paraways portfolio of farms is ideally suited to test some of the innovative emission reduction technologies and practice changes for pastoral operations. More than half of global methane emissions stem from human activities, with livestock management identified as the source of 48 per cent of Australias methane emissions in 2020.Methane also has an average breakdown time of around a decade, compared with centuries for carbon, meaning reductions in methane emissions can have more immediate benefits to the environment.1Paraway CEO Harvey Gaynor, said: Productivity, safety and sustainability all go hand in hand and pursuing new methods of sustainable production in Australian agriculture is a core principle of our approach.Were delighted to be working with the CEFC to trial new and innovative ways to reduce emissions in our pastoral operations for the benefit of the broader sector, with the long-term aim of producing more of the quality food the world needs, while reducing our environmental impact.Australia has a proud pastoral history and Australian red meat businesses are among the most innovative in the world. With an estimated $35 billion dollar value per year placed on Australias livestock sector2, the red meat sector also makes an important contribution to the Australian economy and is among the worlds largest beef exporters.3Coupled with the fact the red meat industry is custodian to around half of Australias land mass, addressing methane in the agricultural sector presents an enormous and unique opportunity to make a substantial contribution to Australias net zero transition.4Across Australia, livestock is the third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions after the energy and transport sectors and remain the nations predominant source of methane emissions.5 Most of these emissions are from enteric methane, which is gas exhaled by ruminants as a natural part of the livestock digestion process, representing a loss in energy available for animal production.Existing practices that can improve animal productivity and reduce enteric methane emissions intensity include selective breeding to improve genetic performance, altering herd management practices, removing unproductive animals from the herd, engaging in farm practice changes and addressing vegetation management.Paraway will share its experience in developing pathways to decarbonisation with the farming sector, establishing a series of demonstration farms across different regions with varying production systems and emissions challenges. Demonstration activities undertaken may include addressing revegetation without reducing productivity, stubble management to improve soil health and protecting and enhancing biodiversity. It will also continue to develop robust data and reporting practices, monitoring and accounting for its greenhouse gas emissions using the latest tools and methodologies.The CEFC is an active investor in the agriculture sector, having previously committed more than $720 million to small and large scale agricultural projects, including emerging soil carbon initiatives.Paraway Pastoral Company, an operating business within an agricultural fund managed by Macquarie Asset Management, currently operates 28 pastoral enterprises across a number of diversified climatic zones and a range of country types.