Monitoring enabled livestock decarbonization through MRV digital technologies and governance in sustainable production systems

Livestock production systems are vital to global food security, rural livelihoods, and agricultural economies, yet they remain a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and carbon dioxide (CO₂). Although significant progress has been made in developing mitigation strategies, measurement tools, and monitoring technologies, the widespread adoption of climate-smart approaches within sustainable production systems is constrained by persistent and interconnected barriers. This review critically synthesizes these constraints, emphasizing the role of monitoring and sensing technologies in enabling mitigation and sustainable livestock production, and categorizing constraints across four domains: technical, economic, data-management, and socio-political. Technical limitations include uncertainties in emission factors, sensor accuracy, and the integration of advanced tools into farm operations. Economic constraints arise from high upfront costs, limited financial incentives, and market inequities that disproportionately affect smallholder producers. Data-related constraints involve fragmented datasets, inadequate monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) frameworks, and poor interoperability across production scales. Policy and governance constraints reflect institutional fragmentation, regulatory misalignment, and inequitable policy structures that hinder alignment with sustainable production objectives. Recognizing these constraints as deeply interdependent, the review highlights key solution pathways, including advances in sensing and AI-driven technologies, improved emission metrics, strengthened MRV frameworks, policy reforms, and global collaboration mechanisms. By linking uncertainty reduction in emission quantification with MRV credibility, economic incentives, governance systems, and value-chain accountability, this review positions emission monitoring as foundational infrastructure for scalable and sustainable livestock decarbonization aligned with long-term climate-neutrality objectives.