Agricultural Sciences: Techniques and Innovations Vol. 10

The global livestock sector is a major contributor to anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, accounting for an estimated 14.5% of total emissions, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents, with methane arising from enteric fermentation and nitrous oxide from manure management constituting the principal emission pathways. As worldwide demand for animal-source food products is projected to increase substantially over the coming decades — particularly across rapidly developing economies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America — the imperative to transform livestock production systems towards low-emission, sustainable configurations has become urgent. This narrative review synthesises current scientific evidence on the climatic impacts of diverse livestock systems and critically appraises a range of technical, managerial, genetic, and policy-oriented mitigation strategies. The evidence base examined encompasses dietary and feed additive interventions, novel manure management technologies, genetic selection strategies for low-methane phenotypes, land management practices that promote soil carbon sequestration, and system-level approaches centred on improved animal productivity and sustainable intensification. The complex interplay between mitigation objectives, food security imperatives, and socioeconomic equity considerations is explored, with particular attention to pronounced regional disparities in emission intensities and the substantially different capacities of industrialised and developing nations to adopt and implement mitigation measures. Demand-side interventions — including dietary shifts towards plant-rich food patterns and the emerging potential of alternative proteins — are also considered. The weight of evidence reviewed suggests that no single strategy is sufficient to achieve the magnitude of GHG reductions required to align the livestock sector with the 1.5°C warming target established under the Paris Agreement. Rather, an integrated portfolio of complementary measures, embedded within robust and coherent policy frameworks and supported by multilateral international collaboration, will be essential if the sector is to contribute meaningfully to global climate stabilisation goals.