Tasmanian company Sea Forest is a finalist in the world’s most prestigious environmental prize for seaweed-based livestock feed that drastically reduces greenhouse gas emissions from sheep and cattle.
Prince William and The Royal Foundation launched the Earthshot Prize in 2020 to discover and champion innovators focused on solving global climate challenges optimistically. Sustainable future advocators, Victoria University of Wellington nominated First-time Tasmanian shortlist Sea Forest, the only Australian contender for the prize.
Sea Forest and 14 other innovators represent six continents and were chosen from over 1,100 nominees. Each finalist is in the running to receive one of five £1 million prizes, equivalent to almost $2 million, at an awards ceremony in Singapore later this year.
Sea Forest was commended for developing a new feed supplement, SeaFeed, made with Tasmania-native red seaweed, Asparagopsis. When included in livestock diet, it drastically reduces livestock methane emissions. Cows and sheep are responsible for 30 percent of global methane emissions, and just 0.5 percent of the Sea Forest supplement could reduce methane production by up to 90 percent.
Sea Forest CEO Sam Elsom said his world-first commercial-scale seaweed cultivating team, including farmers, retailers and researchers, were thrilled to be named an Earthshot Prize Finalist.
Asparagopsis Seaweed Growing in tanks in Australia ©Copyright CSIRO Australia, July 1, 2022
“This is a win for Australian climate science and Australia’s leading role in emissions reduction initiatives,” Mr. Elsom said.
“Supplying our methane-busting solution worldwide can help sustainably feed the planet while contributing to one of the most challenging pieces of the climate puzzle,” he said.
“The climate may be in crisis, and the scale of the task is not to be underestimated, but our perspective has always been that there are positive steps we can all take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming.”
Meanwhile, the team has produced over one million doses of SeaFeed, which can reach 15 percent of Australia’s cattle. Three gigatonnes of emissions globally could be reduced if applied to 15 percent of the world’s cattle population.
Tasmania Premier Jeremy Rockliff said he was incredibly proud to see a Tasmanian business’s remarkable level of innovation recognised on the world stage.
Global Leaders Invest in a Climate-Conscious Future
“Sea Forest has harnessed the power of Australian seaweed to drive long-term solutions to the challenges of climate change that our farmers and primary industries are facing and created a high-value economic opportunity in Tasmania,” Mr. Rockliff said.The Tasmanian Liberal government has strongly supported Sea Forest, investing $540,000 (US$348,246) into the project in 2022.
Further investments into Sea Forest came from the federal government after it signed the Global Methane Pledge on Oct. 22 to cut methane emissions by 30 percent before 2030.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said $5 million of funding would go towards 11 projects over 12 months, including $383,657 to Sea Forest for further work on Asparagopsis seaweed, which Mr. Bowen called “important work.” The University of Melbourne and the University of New England also received some funding.
Chris Bowen, Labor Party's minister for energy and climate change, speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on June 16, 2022. AAP Image/Lukas Coch
Mr. Elsom welcomed the funding and said it would “help unlock solutions to delivering methane-mitigating feed supplements to all Australian livestock regardless of how they are farmed or where they are located, and we’re extremely excited by this potential.”
“We believe that Asparagopsis can play a very significant part in methane reduction, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, and we’re grateful for the continuing support of the federal government,” he said.
However, despite Mr. Elsom’s methane reduction pledge, the Australian red meat and livestock industry has reduced its net greenhouse gas emissions by 65 percent since 2005, according to a CSIRO and Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) research report released in June 2023.
Red Meat Industry Is Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The report also found total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions attributed to the red meat industry had a 6.4 percent decrease in 2020 compared to 2019, according to the 2020 Australian National Greenhouse Gas Inventory information.However, MLA Managing Director Jason Strong said the reduction in emissions was partly due to reduced livestock numbers following the years of drought leading into 2020.
“The number of livestock on the ground has an influence on overall emissions, and we know these numbers will fluctuate with seasonal and market conditions,” Mr. Strong said.
Meanwhile, the report highlighted a need for further areas of improvement, such as including methods to estimate emissions currently excluded from calculations. These include the transport of livestock and emissions associated with crop production for feed.
Mr. Strong said MLA had developed a roadmap for Carbon Neutral 30 that outlined four critical areas for investment: emissions avoidance, carbon storage, leadership building, and integrated management systems.
“As we move closer to 2030, MLA and the red meat industry are ready to further reduce emissions and support producers in building a stronger, more sustainable future,” he said.
