Pledge to Cut Methane Fails to Include World’s Largest Feral Populations: Regional Australian MP

An egret sits on the back of a buffalo as it walks through long grass of Darwin, Australia on April 15, 2012. Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Ongoing moves to cut methane gas emissions from domestic livestock, like cows and pigs, fails to take into account the sheer volume of feral animals now populating countries like Australia, one MP has said.

Keith Pitt, the Nationals Party member for Hinkler, said current measures or proposals to curb flatulence or belching from livestock needed to consider the science.

“There is 10 times the number of feral pigs in Australia than domestic,” he told The Epoch Times.

“This is an underhanded attack on our resources sector and agriculture. If it was about science, well, the flatulence for feral animals should be included, but it’s not,” he said.

A member of a small herd of Brumbies in the Long Plains area of the Kosciuszko National Park, Australia on Aug. 24, 2020. Brook Mitchell/Getty Images

Australia contains some of the world’s largest feral animal populations—partly due to the lack of large land predators—which do not come under government moves to curb methane emissions.

The country is estimated to contain 400,000 wild horses, five million donkeys, 150,000 water buffalo, one million camels, and 24 million feral pigs—in comparison, the United States contains just six million feral pigs.

Livestock the Focus of Methane Emission Cuts

Scientists blame the livestock industry as the number one agricultural source of emissions.

According to the University of California, Davis, methane accounts for around 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gases, with a single cow estimated to belch around 220 pounds of methane a year.

Methane is considered worse for the environment than carbon dioxide.

In response, the New Zealand government is considering charging farmers a tax based on the amount of methane emitted by livestock herds, including cows and sheep.

The pricing system will be set by a central authority called the Climate Change Commission, which could see farmers pay around $15,000 to $50,000 annually or risk cutting the size of their herds.

“No other country in the world has yet developed a system for pricing and reducing agricultural emissions, so our farmers are set to benefit from being first movers,” said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

The move follows in the wake of the U.S. Biden administration that reiterated its November 2021 pledge to cut methane emissions by 30 percent as part of the Global Methane Pledge.

“We urge all countries to reduce collective anthropogenic methane emissions at least 30 percent by 2030 from 2020 levels,” the White House stated following a Sept. 29, 2022 meeting with Pacific leaders.

Meanwhile, the Australian Labor government stated it was considering the proposal as part of its net-zero push but was yet to lock-in a solid commitment.

A Further Warning on Net Zero

Pitt also warned the Australian government’s push for net-zero would weaken manufacturing in the country.

Keith Pitt, Nationals Party MP of the Division of Hinkler in Queensland, speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Sydney, Australia on Oct. 1, 2022. Horace Young/The Epoch Times

“It'll have an enormous impact on the price of electricity, and it will put it up and make our network less reliable and unstable,” he said.

Pitt also said there was a real risk of blackouts if there was a serious push to reduce emissions by 43 percent by 2030.

“I think the risk exists right now, and I think it will get worse coming in the summer, particularly if there are early closures of reliable baseload power stations,” he added. “And it’s not just our domestic risk. Right now, we need Australia to be as strong as possible given what’s happening around the world.”