Project description

An important source of methane emissions from Norwegian agriculture is enteric fermentation in digestive systems of ruminant animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, etc. The volume of methane produced from enteric fermentation is dependent on several factors, like animal species, production level, quantity and quality of feed ingested and environmental conditions. All these parameters need to be taken into consideration when building a model to calculate methane emissions from enteric fermentation. 

A revised excel model for calculating methane emissions from enteric fermentation for Norwegian livestock has been developed by Carbon Limits and reviewed by the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). The model is built on the previously used model, developed and operated by Statistics Norway (SSB). The model allows to calculate methane emissions from various subgroups of the livestock population in Norway in kilograms of CH4 per animal per year. The calculation of methane emissions from enteric fermentation follows Tier 2 methodology for the main emission sources – cattle and sheep and Tier 1 methodology for the other animal categories. 

In addition, several key mitigation measures for reduction of methane emissions from enteric fermentation have been implemented in the updated version of the model.  

The report describing the model is available here.