UK dairy groups are among 40 global organisations pledging to support a new net zero initiative looking to reduce emissions across the sector.
Pathways to Dairy Net Zero has been launched during Climate Week and just prior to the United Nations (UN) Food Systems Summit.
Forty leading organisations, including 11 of the 20 largest dairy companies in the world, have already declared their support for the effort.
Collectively, these supporters represent approximately 30 percent of total milk production worldwide.
UK and European groups to pledge support to the initiative include Dairy UK, First Milk, Arla Foods and Glanbia.
British farmers are currently working toward the industry's goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2040, ten years before the UK government's 2050 target.
Pathways to Dairy Net Zero seeks to improve dairy production and process efficiency as part of a global effort, to further reduce emissions of milk and dairy products.
The companies pledge to enhance production practices that protect carbon sinks - such as soil, forests, grass, peatlands - and complement natural ecosystems.
Practices such as feed, manure, fertiliser and energy management will also be improved.
Hein Schumacher, CEO of Royal FrieslandCampina, a Dutch multinational dairy cooperative, said the global dairy sector had 'a lot to offer to lead this transition'.
“Pathways to Dairy Net Zero will accelerate climate efforts already underway and drive further necessary action to reduce dairy’s emissions over the next decades."
Research is currently underway to identify where positive climate change action is possible in the global dairy sector.
The study is being led by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre.
Initial research found that the dairy sector already has the means to reduce a significant proportion of emissions - up to 40% in some systems - by improving productivity and resource use efficiency.
Researchers are identifying plausible GHG mitigation pathways for different dairy systems globally, in particular methane reduction.
The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report reaffirmed that the main GHG challenge is the reduction of carbon dioxide, which remains in the atmosphere for centuries.
The report also identified reductions in methane, a potent but short-lived climate pollutant that lasts only about 12 years in the atmosphere, as an immediate opportunity to address global warming.
International dairy organisations pledging support to the initiative include Dairy Farmers of America, China Mengniu Dairy Company, Australian Dairy Products Federation and Dairy Farmers of Canada.
