Brazil reduces emissions by 16.7%, and livestock farming gains prominence in climate change.

Article produced by ESGpec for the REGENERATIVE AWAKENING COLUMN of MilkPoint - check out all the content of the column.

The future of livestock farming lies in sustainability. Learn how to measure your carbon footprint, monitor animal welfare, and improve your farm's ESG performance.

This article is part of the "Regenerative Awakening" column, a joint initiative of ESGpec and MilkPoint dedicated to exploring, based on scientific and applied principles, the paths to sustainable and regenerative livestock farming .

Here, we provide free access to ESGpec's digital tools, allowing dairy farmers to assess the carbon footprint , animal welfare, and ESG performance of their farms.

Brazil ended 2024 with a 16.7% reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions , according to data from SEEG (System for Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions), coordinated by the Climate Observatory. This was the largest drop since 2009, driven by a significant decrease in deforestation, especially in the Amazon (-11%) and the Cerrado (-11.5%).

Even so, the country is expected to "just miss" the target set in its NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution). In 2025, the ceiling is 1.32 billion tons of CO²e emitted, but projections indicate that we should reach 1.44 billion .

In any case, we must acknowledge the partial success, which comes with an important change in the composition of national emissions. As the share associated with land-use change, historically the biggest culprit, decreases, other sectors gain relative weight. Agriculture, for example, accounts for about 29% of the country's emissions, equivalent to 626 million tons of CO² equivalent (Mt CO²e), making up the national total of 2,145 megatons of CO²e (i.e., 2,145 million tons) (SEEG, 2024).

Within this sector, livestock farming is responsible for the largest share, both in terms of direct enteric methane emissions and emissions associated with animal feed production, waste management, and the use of fertilizers, fuels, and energy on rural properties.

Methane naturally generated during ruminant digestion is currently one of the largest single sources of greenhouse gases in Brazil. According to historical data from SEEG, in 2024, Brazilian agriculture emitted approximately 15.7 million tons of CH4 , which, considering its global warming potential 27 times greater than that of carbon dioxide (CO2), is equivalent to approximately 424 million tons of CO2e.

In comparative terms, this volume is greater than the total annual emissions of the United Kingdom (≈ 371 Mt CO²e) and France (≈ 366 Mt CO²e) in 2024.

This data alone reveals the magnitude of the climate and technological opportunity that Brazilian livestock farming represents: reducing emissions can have the same climate impact as decarbonizing a large economy.

Another piece of good news is that the solutions are also becoming increasingly clear. In recent years, Brazil has consolidated its scientific basis for measuring and reducing livestock emissions. The adoption of national databases and the availability of digital platforms make it possible to estimate the carbon footprint of milk from each farm and identify the contribution of each of the main sources: enteric methane, feed production, manure management, pastures and fertilizers, energy, and changes in land use.

Advances in the science of food additives reinforce this potential. Synthetic compounds can reduce methane emissions by up to 30% , while macroalgae of the genus Asparagopsis have shown potential for even greater reductions in controlled tests. Natural solutions, such as tannins and essential oils, have also been studied and show reductions of 5 to 15%, with the advantage of being compatible with markets that require products free of chemical additives.

These technical gains, combined with soil management techniques, integrated crop-livestock-forestry systems (ILPF), and greater feed efficiency, can transform the carbon footprint of Brazilian milk and beef , and consequently, the productive and economic reality of agriculture.

While the global average for milk emissions is estimated at around 2.4 kg CO²e per kg of milk (FAO, 2010), Brazilian studies conducted by Embrapa Gado de Leite on 1,791 Brazilian farms that sell fluid milk to multinational companies indicate an average footprint of 1.10 kg CO²e/kg of milk corrected for protein and fat, showing that the most technologically advanced farms in Brazil have footprints close to those of developed countries in Europe and North America.

However, the transition goes beyond technology. The way livestock farming is viewed at the center of the climate debate is another critical aspect. For years, the discourse has focused on deforestation, a serious problem, but one whose isolated control does not guarantee climate neutrality. The next step is to look at emissions within the farm gate and transform data into decisions. After all, every liter of milk or kilogram of meat produced with lower methane emissions represents a measurable environmental gain for Brazil, as well as the generation of economic assets in a world that demands transparency from the entire production chain.

The National Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Removals, published by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) with support from the UNDP and based on IPCC guidelines, already reflects this change. With regional data and Tier 2 and 3 methodology for 95% of the categories, Brazil has begun submitting biennial transparency reports to the UN. These documents show that mitigation in the field is an essential condition for fulfilling the NDC and strengthening the country's position in negotiation rounds such as COP30, recently held in Belém.

The reduction in emissions observed in 2024 is not the end of a cycle. It shows the way forward and is an invitation to a new development model that unites development, production, and preservation.

How to participate in the Regenerative Awakening

Dairy farmers can participate in the project for free and obtain indicators of their farms' carbon footprint, animal welfare, and ESG performance.

Simply visit despertarregenerativo.com.br and register.

Access is individual, valid for 12 months, and includes email support throughout the entire period.

Get to know your farm's key performance indicators, learn how to improve them, and begin your regenerative awakening today.

What we read to write this article

• SEEG – Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimation System ( seeg.eco.br )

• SEEG 2024 Analytical Report – Analysis of GHG emissions and their implications for Brazil's climate goals ( oc.eco.br )

• Methodological Note SEEG Agropecuária (1970-2024) ( seeg.eco.br )

• Capital Reset – Brazil reduces emissions by 16.7% in 2024 and is expected to narrowly miss its 2025 NDC ( reset )

• FAO (2010) – Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Dairy Sector – A Life Cycle Assessment. Rome: FAO .

• ESGpec (2025) – Food Additives for Methane Mitigation and Carbon Footprint in Milk Production ( eBook )

• Embrapa Dairy Cattle (2025) - Carbon footprint of Brazilian milk