Life Cycle Analysis

Life cycle analyses (LCAs) quantify greenhouse gas emissions arising from the entire agricultural production chain. LCAs have largely fallen outside the traditional United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) processes. Scientific efforts have focused primarily on terrestrial inventories.  As a result, there are often large data gaps about the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emmissions produced from the agricultural sector.

There is a need to assess the key data and reporting activities required to undertake LCAs. Currently, there are several methodological approaches being undertaken with different institutions and organizations using different methods, data and ‘boundaries’. This situation, combined with a lack of metadata, makes it difficult to compare the figures produced from different LCAs.

Developing LCA methodologies

MICCA team members have developed a methodology to quantify greenhouse gas emissions arising from animal food chains. This methodology makes it possible to calculate how much greenhouse gases are emitted along the entire production chain for products such as milk, meat and eggs. The analysis covers:

• emissions from the production of inputs, such as fertilizers and feeds;
• greenhouse gases emitted on-farm; and
• emissions arising during the processing of agricultural products once they have left the farm.

To date, studies have been undertaken of the main livestock sectors: beef, dairy, pigs, poultry, small ruminants and buffalo. These analyses will help identify efficient ways to produce livestock products while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and highlight potential wider environmental impacts. They will also help to guide the development of policies that support climate-smart production systems. This work also provides baseline information and a modelling framework for assessing the mitigation potentials of feed and manure management practices.

Plans are being developed to expand the analysis to include major feed crops and the wider environmental impacts of livestock production. The MICCA Programme will also work to develop LCA guidelines and provide examples of how these can be used not only for estimating greenhouse gases, but also for identifying mitigation ‘hotspots’, giving decision-makers the information they need to formulate policies and carry out effective actions for reducing emissions.

For a perspective on LCA from the point of view of Peter Ywema, General Manager SAI Platform (Global), click here.