Latest emissions cap targets cow burps
Federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault continues his relentless attacks on Canada’s GHG emissions, as though the global climate crisis can only be solved by shutting down all of Canada’s industries, including agriculture. Canada, which despite its vast size, emits only 1.6 percent of GHGs on the planet.
Yet the way he’s going about it, is both vicious and ridiculous. Vicious, because Canada could help other countries reduce their emissions by providing them with cleaner-burning LNG to replace coal, thus reducing global emissions. A solution he is hindering with the recent announcement of the emissions cap on the oil and gas industry.
Ridiculous, because Guilbeault has now set his sights on eliminating emissions from cattle. Specifically, their burps.
This announcement, like the oil and gas emissions cap, was made while Guilbeault was at COP 28 in Dubai. On Food and Agriculture Day at COP 28, the Minister released a draft protocol Reducing Enteric Methane Emissions from Beef Cattle (REME).
Enteric emissions are caused when ruminants, animals with a rumen, burp. However, the protocol only mentions beef cattle. Sheep, goats, and deer are also ruminants.
“The fact that we’re even talking about this seems like we’re on an April Fools interview, and it’s before lunch,” said Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies MP Bob Zimmer. “It’s laughable if it wasn’t serious.”
Zimmer thinks that what the government is doing is simply trying to distract Canadians from the real problem of affordability.
“If you think putting a tax on beef is somehow not going to impact Canadians, we already are seeing record high prices, even in places like Costco for buying beef. This is just going to increase that price even more needlessly,” said Zimmer.
“We’re all about reducing emissions, but doing it through technology, not the way that the Liberals want to do it. We have capabilities of carbon sequestration – like farmers, how much do they sequester every year and don’t get credit for?”
The government’s plan to reduce methane emissions from beef burps, involves changing the animals’ diet and “other strategies that support more efficient animal growth.”
Apparently, the problem is the biology of cattle, and their natural digestive process. With their four stomachs and rumen, they are uniquely designed to make use of grass. Grass is their main source of food, both when grazing during spring, summer, and fall, and as hay – its dried and baled state, which is easily stored for winter feeding. Studies have suggested that methane emissions from burps can be reduced by altering cows’ diet to include corn or seaweed, which do not ferment as much in the animals’ digestive system.
According to the REME protocol, reducing emissions will enable farmers to earn credits, under the government’s Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit System. Each credit equals one tonne of emissions reduction. These credits can be sold to facilities that will use them to meet emissions reductions obligations, or to businesses to help them meet their low-carbon economy commitments.
Zimmer says farmers across Canada are doing their part, without these new protocols. “Our farmers already sequester so much carbon every year when they grow crops. Do they ever get credit for it? No, they don’t.”
“Let’s get the reductions to the bigger emitters, which is not Canada. We’re less than 2% of the emissions in the world. How about we go help the ones that are the worst on the globe, and let’s start there instead of [talking about] cow farts or burps,” Zimmer said.
All these protocols are going to do, is increase the cost of food even more, he said.
Recently Zimmer, who is the shadow minister for Northern Affairs, Arctic Sovereignty and Northern Economic Development spoke with former Tuktoyaktuk MLA Jackie Jacobson about grocery store prices in the Northwest Territories. A can of tomato soup, Zimmer said, is $11, a box of Cheerios, $17.
“And then they’re talking about adding more costs to consumers for food,” he said. “This is going to impact Canadians in a negative way again, at a time when we need it the least.”
“People wonder why we heckle. It’s because people like that stand up and talk about cow farts and burps, instead of dealing with how you’re going to feed Canadians at a time where they can barely afford to pay their rent or get to work in their car. And they have good jobs, that’s the thing. Most people think, I have a good job, why is this not lasting to the end of the month anymore?”
Government policies have already had serious impacts on the northeastern BC economy, said Zimmer.
Through the 30 by 30 initiative, announced in December 2022, the Federal government aims to designate 30 percent of Canada’s land and water as protected areas by 2030. That has caused us to lose access to timber and has been detrimental to our forest industry, Zimmer said, as shown by the closure of three mills in Chetwynd and Taylor.
Now the government is going after oil, gas, and agriculture.
A lot of natural gas will be needed for LNG Canada and other gas plant proposals in British Columbia. “To me, this is a good story for Canada, a good story for British Columbians and First Nations, you name it. Somehow the government’s going to try to step into the middle of that good situation and find a way to ruin it,” Zimmer said.
“LNG Canada is the one shining light we have in our country right now, because there’s going to be so much gas that’s needed in our area. We’re going to need more exploration, more production, and there are more plants coming on stream. There’s the expansion to LNG Canada, the Phase 2 – we hope this kind of announcement doesn’t affect that in a negative way.”
Other countries could benefit from our natural gas, to switch their coal-fired power plants to cleaner natural gas-powered electricity generation and heat for their homes, but Zimmer says the both the provincial and federal governments are just trying to slow things down, instead of finding ways to bolster our capability. Germany and Japan have asked for Canada’s help, but Guilbeault and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have said there’s no financial case for that.
“Which is baloney,” said Zimmer. “Bottom line is this country can’t afford Justin Trudeau any longer. I think that’s becoming clear even to those people who used to support him.”