Integrating Innovation, Carbon Pricing, and Subsidy Reform to Cut US Enteric Methane Emissions

Unofficial AI-generated summary based on the public title and abstract. Not an official translation.

🔬研究者:Provides a policy framework for enteric methane reduction that integrates technology, pricing, and subsidies, useful for climate policy research.

🏢実務担当者:Highlights potential regulatory and market changes that could affect livestock operations, informing corporate sustainability strategies.

🏛政策担当者:Offers a concrete three-part strategy for federal regulation of enteric methane, relevant for agricultural and climate policy design.

Enteric fermentation, the digestive process of cattle, is the United States’ second-largest source of methane emissions. Past US efforts to reduce livestock methane have relied on voluntary, supply-side, incentive-based programs that have largely failed due to limited attention to enteric emissions, the absence of pricing mechanisms, and a lack of demand-side reform. Highly effective strategies such as mandatory targets and inclusion in carbon pricing face political and economic barriers while mitigation technologies face cost, adoption, and effectiveness challenges, and pose greenwashing risks unless coupled with policy reforms. This policy brief proposes a three-part federal strategy combining technological, regulatory, and market reforms—providing a strategic roadmap for Congress, the USDA, and the EPA to regulate enteric methane emissions at the federal level. First, it recommends increased funding for research, development, and deployment of enteric methane measurement and mitigation technologies, providing the critical genetic and technological foundation upon which policy implementation depends and enabling optimal emissions reduction per unit of meat or milk. Second, it proposes coupling carbon pricing of enteric methane emissions with targeted mitigation technology subsidies, incentivizing farms and ranches to invest in methane mitigation technologies while enabling access by smaller operations and reducing the risk of emissions leakage. Third, it calls for a modest redirection of a portion of US livestock subsidies toward produce and alternative proteins, aligning supply- and demand-side strategies and supporting dietary transitions. By combining these interventions into an integrated federal framework, the US can reduce enteric methane emissions, promote equitable participation by farmers, and strengthen long-term agricultural climate governance.

• crossref https://doi.org/10.38126/jspg280104first seen 2026-07-16 07:25:11 · last seen 2026-07-19 06:20:35
• openalex https://doi.org/10.38126/jspg280104first seen 2026-07-25 04:55:46