Climate science researcher

Role: Research the claim that animal agriculture is responsible for around 50% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with team members to determine the scope of this project.
• Analyse scientific papers on the topic of animal agriculture and global warming.
• Check the validity of the assumptions made in the papers.
• Write a review of the literature.

Requirements:

• Strong scientific research skills
• Ability to work independently

Vegan Australia generally uses a figure of about 50% when discussing the contribution of animal agriculture to global warming. However, this figure is often criticised and so we would like to review the evidence for it to ensure we are presenting accurate information.

The following are some of the research papers we have used:

• Livestock's long shadow: environmental issues and options, Steinfeld, H. et al, United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization
• Livestock and Climate Change, Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang, Worldwatch Institute.
• "Livestock and Climate Change": Critical Comments and Responses, Robert Goodland
• Zero Carbon Australia: Land Use Agriculture and Forestry Discussion Paper, Beyond Zero Emissions (and here and here)
• BZE Land use fact sheet
• Neglected Transformational Responses: Implications of Excluding Short Lived Emissions and Near Term Projections in Greenhouse Gas Accounting, Wedderburn-Bisshop, G., Longmire, A. and Rickards, L., International Journal of Climate Change: Impacts & Responses, 7(3)
• Neglected transformational responses to climate change - implications of excluding short lived emissions and near term projections in greenhouse gas accounting (poster)
• Increased transparency in accounting conventions could benefit climate policy, Gerard Wedderburn-Bisshop
• Agriculture and climate change, World Preservation Foundation (video)
• Deforestation - a call for consistent carbon accounting, Gerard Wedderburn-Bisshop
• Livestock and climate: Do percentages matter?, Paul Mahony