For the first time, scientists and breeders across the globe are joining forces to slash methane emissions from livestock. Backed by $19.3 million from the Bezos Earth Fund and $8.1 million from the Global Methane Hub, a new initiative will fund research and breeding programs across North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Oceania to help herds emit less methane – naturally.

The funding will support grants that deliver the tools to identify low-emission cattle and sheep based on biological traits; and help breeding programs select animals that are naturally more climate efficient.

“Reducing methane from cattle is one of the most elegant solutions we have to slow climate change,” said Andy Jarvis, director of the Future of Food at the Bezos Earth Fund. “Thanks to collaboration with the Global Methane Hub, we’re backing an effort that uses age-old selection practices to identify and promote naturally low-emitting cattle – locking in climate benefits for generations to come.”

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas – more than 80 times as powerful as carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Cattle are the largest contributors to livestock-related methane emissions. But even within a single herd, some animals emit up to 30% less methane than others. Scientists say selecting and breeding for these traits – just as farmers have done for centuries for milk yield, fertility, or disease resistance – can lead to emissions reductions across the industry.

“This initiative is a cornerstone of a broader global push to accelerate public-good research on enteric methane,” said Hayden Montgomery, agriculture program director at the Global Methane Hub. “Together with the Bezos Earth Fund, as part of the Enteric Fermentation R&D Accelerator, we’re building an open, coordinated foundation that spans countries, breeds, and species – delivering practical solutions that reduce emissions and support farmers worldwide.”

These efforts will screen more than 100,000 animals, collect methane emissions data and scale up low-emission breeding practices across public and private breeding programs.

The Bezos Earth Fund is contributing $2.34 million to the University of Nebraska to lead research on low-methane beef genetics in commercial and crossbred cattle populations in the US, and $4.85 million to the Angus Foundation to integrate low-methane traits into beef cattle breeding programs in North America, Oceania and Europe. The Bezos Earth Fund is additionally granting $8.7 million to accelerate low-emission dairy breeding across Holstein, Jersey, Brown Swiss and Red breeds, led by Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and $3.35 million to advance methane-efficient breeding in Indigenous African cattle, led by the International Livestock Research Institute in Kenya.

The Enteric Fermentation R+D Accelerator of the Global Methane Hub is contributing $1.7 million to support methane-efficient beef breeding in Latin America, led by the National Agricultural Research Institute in Uruguay, $2.4 million to accelerate low-emission sheep breeding in Europe, Oceania and Latin America, led by the University of New England in Australia, and $4 million to support rumen microbiome sampling and analysis across all above-mentioned projects funded by Global Methane Hub and the Bezos Earth Fund.

“This work brings together the best of science, industry, and the global breeding community to accelerate genetic improvement for methane efficiency worldwide,” said Roel Veerkamp, leader of the initiative at Wageningen University & Research. “It fits nicely with our mission at WUR to explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life.”

The work is part of the Global Methane Genetics initiative, an international collaboration to embed climate-smart breeding practices into livestock programs. With support from over 50 institutions in more than 25 countries, the initiative aims to make methane efficiency a global breeding standard. Over time, this approach could cut methane emissions from cattle by 1 to 2% each year – accumulating to a 30% reduction over the next two decades.

Source: Bezos Earth Fund