Review: Livestock health as a climate solution

Livestock production contributes substantially to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yet the role of animal health in mitigating these emissions remains under-recognised within both research and policy frameworks. Diseases reduce productivity, impair reproductive performance, increase mortality and culling rates, and prolong production cycles, thereby increasing GHG emissions intensity. This review brings together current evidence linking animal health and GHG emissions across major disease categories and production systems, including parasitic infections, mastitis, and reproductive disorders. Available studies consistently demonstrate that improving animal health can reduce emissions intensity through gains in productivity and resource-use efficiency, although the magnitude of these effects varies among diseases, livestock systems, and regions. Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa, India, and South America highlights both the potential mitigation benefits of disease control and the substantial data gaps that remain, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The review also examines how animal health is represented within current GHG accounting frameworks and discusses the limitations of existing Tier 1 and Tier 2 approaches in capturing disease-related impacts on emissions. While higher-tier methodologies offer greater biological realism, their application is often constrained by data availability. Improving the integration of animal health within emissions assessment frameworks, livestock development programmes, and climate policy could provide a practical pathway to reduce emissions intensity while delivering co-benefits for productivity, animal welfare, food security, and rural livelihoods.