Sheep experts team up to reduce emissions Livestock experts are working to reduce the environmental impact of sheep26 June 2025 26 June 2025 3 minute read 3 minute read By: By: Scotland’s Rural College EuropeLivestock experts from around the world have been working together to try to reduce the environmental impact of sheep. Globally, there are an estimated 1.2 billion sheep, producing around seven million tonnes of methane into the atmosphere, approximately 6.4% of the total enteric methane from livestock. Sustain Sheep builds on research from New Zealand which suggests that, by exploiting the natural variation in methane emissions between individual sheep, selective breeding could reduce emissions by 1-2% per year, without compromising genetic improvement in other traits. This will enable recommendations for breeding programmes to be determined in tandem with the economic implications of selecting for low-methane sheep. Sustain Sheep is carried out under the Green ERA-Hub, a Coordination and Support Action (CSA), funded through the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation (R&I) programme.