Abstract

In this paper we calculate the key differences between emissions estimates made using the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model (GLEAM) and the New Zealand-specific analysis performed for the New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Inventory and the Fonterra Farm Gate Milk life-cycle analysis (LCA) that provides a proxy for all New Zealand milk production. We discovered that a wide range of factors can be responsible for more than a doubling of emissions calculated using GLEAM compared with emissions calculated using New Zealand-specific data. Such inappropriate use of GLEAM and the resulting conclusions have been used to undermine the efficiency of New Zealand production systems in publications such as Emissions Impossible. Keywords: Life cycle analysis; modelling; dairy processing

AJ, Fletcher, NW Sneddon, and JP Hill

New Zealand Journal of Animal Science and Production, Volume 81, Online, 164-167, 2021