21 December 2023

2 minute read

By: Global Ag Media

North America

On December 10, 2023, the Canadian federal government announced a new draft protocol under the Canadian Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit System Regulations, to incentivise reductions in methane emissions from enteric fermentation in cattle. The draft offset protocol Reducing Enteric Methane Emissions from Beef Cattle (REME) would allow operators to reduce enteric methane emissions in confined beef cattle feeding operations in order to generate offset credits, with each credit representing the equivalent of one metric ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) reduced or removed from the atmosphere. 

According to regulations, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions must be real, additional, quantified, verified, unique and permanent. Project activities under the proposed REME protocol would reduce the quantity of GHGs emitted per unit mass of beef produced by improving animal performance, or by directly reducing enteric methane emissions. 

The use of emerging feeds or technologies that directly reduce enteric methane production are ineligible unless they also improve animal performance. Also, projects cannot generate GHG emission reductions during cattle grazing, or from dairy cattle. These approaches may be considered in the future.

Eligible project activities fall under the following categories:

• Improved management, such as improved animal health, tracking, sorting, customised feeding, and pen-cleanliness.
• Diet reformulation, such as reducing forage content of the diet, improving forage quality, or adding supplemented lipid to the diet (supplemented lipid must not be rumen-protected and must be added in addition to the normal lipid content of the diet).
• Feed additives, such as ionophores, yeasts, essential oils, or other digestion enhancers.
• Growth promoters, such as beta-agonists or hormonal implants to improve animal growth and/or feed efficiency.
• Other innovative strategies, meant to improve the feed efficiency or animal performance.

Genetic selection, meaning breeding or procurement of animals with improved genetics that reduce enteric methane emissions and/or improve feed efficiency, would be considered an eligible activity only

in combination with one of the activities listed above. The proposed REME protocol includes a strict quantification methodology that must be followed to quantify baseline, as well as project scenario GHG emissions, to be subsequently used to quantify the GHG emission reductions generated by a project. Additionally, the protocol includes measurement methodologies, and reporting requirements.