IWTO Supports Split Gas Approach for Greenhouse Gas Reporting

The International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO) is an active and supportive member of a global coalition urging the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to adopt a split-gas approach to the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris Agreement. Forty-one organizations across 17 countries have now signed the joint statement, calling for different categories of greenhouse gases to be reported separately because they affect the planet in different ways and over different timelines.

What is the Split Gas Coalition

This coalition reflects growing international recognition that the current method for reporting greenhouse gas emissions doesn’t accurately reflect the real-world climate impact of livestock farming. The standard metric, GWP100, treats all greenhouse gases as if their atmospheric lifecycles and effects are the same. However, the science shows that this approach is, if not exactly incorrect, at the very least, imprecise.

A better approach would take into account the differences between carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and biogenic methane. The coalition champions this more detailed and refined approach.

Not all Greenhouse Gases Are Created Equal

The primary distinction between these gases is what we might describe as their lifecycles, i.e., the amount of time it takes for them to break down in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide are long-lived, meaning that once they are emitted, they accumulate in the atmosphere and stay there for centuries. Every tonne added simply expands the current atmospheric store of greenhouse gases, contributing to the warming of the planet. Where the coalition agrees with the UNFCCC, the Paris Agreement, and others, is the fact that emissions of these gases must reach net zero if we are to stop any further warming from them.

Biogenic methane, however, behaves differently from carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. It’s on the matter of biogenic methane that the coalition calls for change.

This gas, a by-product of the normal digestion of livestock such as sheep and cattle, has long been treated in the same way as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. But this approach is inaccurate and does not reflect the science.

How Biogenic Methane Differs

Biogenic methane is a short-lived gas, which means it takes about ten years to break down in the atmosphere. This means its warming effect depends not on how much has accumulated over time, but on whether the emissions are rising, stable, or falling. A flock that stays the same size year after year will not add to the warming of the planet, but a growing flock will.

Since GWP100 does not make this distinction, it produces a significant statistical distortion. Because of this lack of precision, the GWP100 overstates the warming effect of constant methane emissions by a factor of three to four.

A split-gas approach would report short-lived and long-lived gases separately. This is not being proposed as a way to weaken climate targets, but rather to make them more accurate. This, in turn, would ensure that policy focuses on the gases and the emission changes that actually drive warming.

Read Next: The Wool March to Brussels

IWTO Supports Evidence-Based Sustainability

Support for split-gas national determined contributions (NDC) is steadily gathering pace. Uruguay recently became the first country to set a split-gas NDC. The UNFCCC has undertaken to review its reporting guidelines no later than 2028. The IWTO has resolved to provide full support to the coalition and its goals. We have always maintained a strong commitment to evidence-based sustainability policies. The split-gas campaign is a perfect example of this, using scientific evidence to create more effective frameworks for accurate reporting and facilitating more precise and targeted pursuit of net-zero goals.

Become a Member of the Global Wool Industry Community

IWTO welcomes all companies and organisations that are stakeholders at any stage of the wool textile value chain, from growers to retailers and everyone in between. Learn more about us by subscribing to our newsletter or contacting us directly at iwto@iwto.org.

For more information on the wool industry around the world, take a look at our fact sheets, statistics and guidelines.

Now Read: Making the case for Wool in the EU’s Bioeconomy