Ahead of the Herd: Policy Solutions to Accelerate Livestock Methane Emissions Reduction in California

To achieve state goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2045, California leaders have initiated an ambitious suite of programs to address methane, a climate super-pollutant. Leaders have focused on emissions from livestock, which generate over half of California’s methane – primarily in the state’s dairy sector, the largest in the nation.

To address these challenges, CLEE and UCLA Law convened state agency, industry, academic, and environmental justice leaders for a discussion of strategies to accelerate livestock methane emission reduction in California while addressing public and environmental health concerns.

Policy solutions outlined in our report, Ahead of the Herd, include:

• Creating an interagency one-stop shop for greenhouse gas, quality, water quality, and other data reporting and technical assistance;
• Updating the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard to better assess life-cycle impacts and additionality of digester projects and support environmental health protections while increasing certainty for operators;
• Accelerating approval of and increasing financial support for new enteric emission reduction strategies.