Increased climate finance can give livestock-raising communities in low- and middle-income countries the opportunity and resources to adopt proven climate-smart solutions. To achieve this, decision-makers need to make data-informed policy decisions.
Frequent droughts, destructive floods, rising food prices and dwindling incomes are just some of the devastating consequences of climate change on the lives of ordinary Kenyans. Like many countries across Africa, Kenya’s agricultural sector is greatly suffering the brunt of the impacts of climate change.
Socio-economic losses related to climate impacts in the country are estimated at up to five per cent of the annual gross domestic product (GDP). However, mainly through livestock-related emissions, the sector also contributes to global warming and thus climate change. This, therefore, represents an enormous unrealised opportunity to reduce emissions while supporting nutrition and livelihoods.
Globally, the livestock value chain supports more than one billion people, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The sector is crucial for nutrition, food security, economic livelihoods and even the preservation of tradition and culture, but it is also responsible for up to 20 per cent of human-induced global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Yet, demand for animal products is steadily growing worldwide. By 2050, global demand for meat protein is anticipated to increase by 20 per cent compared to 2020 levels.
To meet this need without compromising the health of the planet, there is a need to make data-informed policy decisions that help the livestock sector become more efficient while also producing lower emissions. The Livestock Data for Decisions (LD4D) Climate Finance Solutions Group, a coalition of 20 international livestock and finance experts has developed three new briefs that present crucial evidence which could enable this.
Policy levers to unlock climate finance in the livestock sector
Access to evidence that demonstrates the mitigation potential in the livestock sector can ensure that policymakers will mainstream livestock climate actions in national climate plans and strategies thus channelling more financial resources to the sector.
In Kenya, I have seen firsthand how implementing policy for sustainable livestock can help more effectively mobilise climate finance to improve productivity and reduce GHG emissions. Indeed, many other countries can better access and deploy much-needed climate finance by including appropriate livestock measures in national climate plans, standardising livestock data and improving coordination between the actors implementing climate policy.
Kenya has prioritised addressing livestock-related emissions in its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The country also aligned these targets with National and sectoral climate action priorities elaborated in the National Climate Change Action Plans (NCCAP, 2023 -2027), Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Strategy (KCSAS, 2017-2026) and the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Implementation Framework (KCSAIF, 2018-2027). These mitigation targets include adopting practices for better efficiency and productivity in the livestock sector, sustainable land management and more.
Kenya’s ability to access climate finance has improved significantly thanks to comprehensive laws and regulations at national, industry-specific, and local levels. These rules have created favourable conditions for attracting and securing funding for climate-related projects. As a result, the country is expected to receive $144 million mobilised through its Dairy Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA).
While policy is critical, it should be accompanied by more investments and reliable data to support sustainability targets in livestock development.
The climate investment case for the livestock sector
Investing in livestock can tackle GHG emissions while reducing poverty, improving nutrition, and building more climate resilience. Increased climate finance means giving livestock-raising communities in LMICs the opportunity and resources to adopt proven climate-smart solutions. This includes sustainable farming practices such as improved (precision) livestock diets and feeding practices, and better grassland management through rotation grazing, which can lower emissions by up to 30 per cent while boosting productivity and household incomes.
With more demand for animal protein, financial investments made towards greater sustainability, efficiency and productivity in the livestock sector will offer not only high return and recovery rates for investors but also better environmental outcomes.
For example, a pilot of the Nourishing Prosperity Alliance (NPA) project in Kenya invested finances to improve access to quality forage and feed products for dairy cow farmers. This investment was made to enhance productivity and reduce emissions intensity from dairy farms. As a result, there was a 26 per cent estimated GHG emissions intensity reduction for milk produced and up to 46 per cent average increase per smallholder farmer of total litres of milk produced annually.
Estimating livestock emissions to unlock climate finance
Accurately measuring emissions can help countries quantify existing mitigation opportunities in their livestock sectors and can prompt more investments and the development of better policies. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has developed methodologies and tools to quantify emissions based on the whole livestock value chain that uses livestock activity data that includes factors such as farm management practices and animal diets.
Utilising these recognised methods to better calculate livestock emissions can support LMICs with the data that they need to quantify emissions and make assessments on the mitigation potential and thus advocate for more financing for livestock development. Ultimately, this can create opportunities to address existing inefficiencies in livestock systems in these regions.
The livestock sector plays a central role in the livelihoods of many across the globe. With growing evidence on the benefits of better policies and livestock climate action measures, more investments and reliable data in countries such as Kenya, we must urgently ensure more climate finance is channelled to the sector to deliver the right interventions at scale, where they are needed most.