Mobilizing climate finance for livestock transformation in the Global South

Abstract

Livestock systems sustain more than one billion people worldwide, most of them in low- and middle-income countries, making the sector central to food security, nutrition, and rural livelihoods across the Global South. At the same time, livestock accounts for roughly one fifth of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, primarily methane. With global demand for animal sourced foods projected to double by 2050, countries face a dual imperative to raise productivity and resilience while substantially reducing emissions. Climate finance provides a practical pathway to address this challenge. By mobilizing public, blended, and private capital, governments can reduce the risk of investments in improved forages, enhanced grazing management, and low emission feed and manure systems. Such investments can simultaneously increase productivity, strengthen adaptive capacity, and generate measurable mitigation outcomes. Evidence from CGIAR and partners shows that sustainable intensification can reduce emission intensity by up to half while increasing yields and farm incomes. Proven technologies are already available, but financial mechanisms and institutional capacity to scale them remain insufficient. Transforming livestock systems therefore requires: A. Policy alignment, integrating livestock into national climate strategies, Nationally Determined Contributions, and investment plans. B. Robust monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems that produce credible and transparent data to confirm results and attract investment. C. Blended finance instruments that strategically combine concessional, private, and results-based funding to mobilize capital at scale. For African member states, the key policy task is to integrate livestock into national climate and investment frameworks, build credible MRV systems, and develop bankable livestock programs that can access concessional, blended, and results-based finance. Donors and research institutions play a complementary role by providing the data, standards, and tools that make livestock projects auditable, investable, and scalable. When governance, data, and finance converge, livestock can shift from being perceived mainly as a source of emissions to becoming a driver of low carbon, climate resilient growth and a strategic development opportunity for the Global South.