Solutions for methane mitigation in Brazilian agriculture: achieving a 28% reduction by 2035

Brazil is the world’s fifth-largest methane emitter, with methane accounting for 24% of national greenhouse gas emissions and the agricultural sector responsible for 75.6% of these methane emissions, mainly from livestock. Under a business-as-usual scenario, agricultural emissions are projected to rise in line with intrinsic emissions associated with production growth, challenging Brazil’s commitments to the Global Methane Pledge and the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). Based on the methodology for calculating emissions from the Brazilian National GHG Inventory and the mitigation potential of different mitigation strategies aimed at the agricultural sector, such as those addressed by the ABC+ Plan. This brief compares a trend scenario against a mitigation scenario based on the adoption of proven low-emission practices and technologies in livestock and crops productions systems. The implementation of methane reduction strategies for livestock and agricultural production can reduce sectoral methane emissions by 28% by 2035 compared to 2020 levels. Policymakers must prioritize scaling of these technologies, replacing the more methane-emitting analogues and establish robust Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems to ensure impact.