2024/02/20 by Kirchner, Mathias, Pölz, Werner, Mayrhofer, Hans +2
#Austria #Keywords: carbon footprint #Klimaschutz #Rindfleisch #Schlagworte: CO2-Fußabdruck #beef #climate mitigation #global #life cycle analysis #Ökobilanzierung #Österreich
paper · doi:10.15203/oega_32.4
We calculate carbon footprints (CFP) for selected beef production systems and provide a comparative analysis with other findings in the literature. Our results indicate that Austrian beef has one of the lowest CFP globally, despite high ranges of different production systems. It would thus have a competitive advantage, if GHG emissions from cattle production were priced. Since Austria is a net exporter of beef, this export surplus likely has a small negative impact on global GHG emissions from beef. Further mitigation measures should be applied, but total potential emission reductions are assumed to be only between 5% and 19%. Current climate mitigation goals will thus require a further reduction of global beef production and consumption.