Bill Gates has backed a climate technology company in Australia that is working to lessen the environmental impact of cow flatulence.
The Microsoft co-creator has been vocal about the adverse effects of the meat industry on the environment.
Beyond carbon dioxide, methane is the most abundant naturally occurring greenhouse gas (CO2).
The digestion process of tough fibers like grass produces methane in livestock such as cows, goats, and deer.
Methane gas is produced during the fermentation process and expulsed primarily through burping.
University research indicates that seaweed fed to cattle can significantly reduce methane emissions.
Perth-based newcomer Rumin8 is developing a dietary supplement mimicked synthetically from red seaweed that inhibits gas production.
A statement revealed that it had secured a funding round of $12m (£9.7m) led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, an investment firm established by Mr. Gates in 2015.
Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, and Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba and a successful Chinese entrepreneur, are both investors in the company.
Rumin8’s MD, David Messina, has expressed his company’s gratitude for their positive response from climate impact funds worldwide.
“Fortunately for Rumin8, they can see the benefits of our technology,” he continued, “and there is a genuine desire to fund solutions to enteric methane emissions from livestock.”
New Zealand proposed taxing greenhouse gases produced by farm animals to combat climate change last October.
By 2025, this groundbreaking program will have farmers worldwide pay for their contributions to agricultural emissions.
Agricultural activities account for nearly half of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions, mostly due to methane.
This year’s amount of methane in the atmosphere is roughly 2.5 times higher than in the pre-industrial era, a new all-time high.
Scientists are concerned about methane’s potency as a global warming gas.
Methane molecules warm the atmosphere more than carbon dioxide molecules do on their own.
Methane is 28-34 times as warming as carbon dioxide over a 100-year period.
