CLIMATE-SMART DAIRY

Consider the following:

• According to the annual California Climate Investments report, the Dairy Digester Research and Development Program (DDRDP) alone is achieving more GHG (CO2e) reductions than any other climate investment, achieving 28% of total GHG reductions while being allocated just 1.5% of the funds implemented to date.

 

• At a cost of just nine dollars ($9) per ton of CO2e reduced, the DDRDP is California’s most cost effective investment in the fight against climate change.

 

• The state's family dairy farms are on course to meet the states 40% manure methane reduction goal by 2030, already implementing more than 50% of the reductions needed.

 

• Both the DDRDP and the Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP) are oversubscribed, documenting the need for additional funds.

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• California cannot and will not achieve its methane and overall GHG reductions without additional investments in dairy digesters. 

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As evidenced by the passage of Senate Bill 1383 (Lara) in 2016, California has long understood the importance of slowing the release of methane (CH4) and other short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) to address global climate change. A recent global methane assessment conducted by the United Nations environmental program (UNep) emphasizes the need to further abate methane as a short-term hedge against the more damaging and long-term impacts of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary GHG causing global warming.

 

Methane’s enormous potential as a mitigation opportunity is its short-lived nature, lasting just a decade or so in the atmosphere before breaking down. That means stabilizing existing methane emissions quickly—and further reducing methane concentrations in the atmosphere—will most effectively help the world meet its 2050 targets for fighting global warming.

 

By contrast, carbon dioxide—the most abundant GHG emission—lasts for hundreds of years. So, while it remains critical to continue reducing CO2, seeking reductions in methane is far more important in the short term.

 

As a result, funding short term methane emissions reductions should be priority number one for California. However, investments in methane reduction have decreased significantly in recent years, as funding for dairy methane reduction programs and other SLCPs have been cut, in favor of pet political projects that provide few if any actual reductions.

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Three recent reports from the Newsom Administration document the significant environmental, climate, social, and economic benefits of dairy digesters and dairy methane reduction efforts. These benefits include significant direct and indirect benefits to local disadvantaged communities and priority populations.

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