The legislator Lucia Klug He presented a project to create an environmental methane tax in Buenos Aires (TAMBA), in order to tax emissions from livestock farming and channel funds to improve urban waste management. This proposal sparked immediate rejection in the sector due to the cost it would entail and the lack of technical support.
The initiative of the Deputy Union for the Fatherland (UxP) and associated with Juan GraboisHe says the rate is based on the principle of extended producer responsibility and provides for the establishment of a trust fund through which it seeks to offset methane generated by livestock farming through emissions reductions achieved through adequate management of urban solid waste, in line with the provisions of Law No. 13592 on Comprehensive Urban Solid Waste Management (GIRSU).
The project asserts that this measure responds to “the urgent need to confront the challenges of climate change and its impacts, especially with regard to greenhouse gas emissions.”
According to Argentina’s greenhouse gas inventory, the province of Buenos Aires is among the country’s main sources of emissions, producing about a quarter of the national total of greenhouse gases.
Within provincial emissions, 27% corresponds to methane (CH4), with livestock farming responsible for 19% of methane emissions and urban solid waste management for 6%.
The text indicated that animal production emits methane gas mainly through enteric fermentation and manure management, while landfills and open landfills constitute other relevant sources of this gas. The draft specifies that “the entities legally responsible for livestock sector companies established in the province of Buenos Aires are subject to this law.”
The reaction of the Federation of Rural Associations of Buenos Aires and La Pampa (CARBAB) was immediate. The entity expressed its rejection of the initiative, considering that “methane is measured, and legislative improvisation as well… and much more of it is emitted. So why don’t we think of a rate for improvised legislators?” he noted in a post on the X Network.
Moreover, the entity stated in a statement: “Given the intention to impose an environmental tax on methane (TAMBA) in the Province of Buenos Aires, we at CARBAP express our absolute rejection of a project that, far from offering solutions, once again burdens producers with meaningless cost or technical support.”
They stated, “Cattle farming in Buenos Aires already bears one of the highest tax pressures in the country. Adding a tax to ‘cow methane’ does not reduce emissions, it reduces production, competitiveness and employment. At CARBAP we advocate for serious public policies, based on data, dialogue and knowledge. We will not accept further burdens that penalize the sector that produces food, generates work and supports the economies of our rural communities.”
They said from CARBAP information Who was never consulted by Klug during the formulation of the project. head of the entity, Ignacio KovarskiHe noted that Klug’s bill “is not an environmental law, but a hidden tax on rural labor. Tampa’s law does not improve the environment or reduce emissions. It just adds another cost to a sector that already bears a record tax burden.” Kovarsky added in another post that the project “doesn’t correct anything: it punishes those who produce and rewards those who unknowingly organize.”
The entity also previously warned of the inefficiency of public spending in the provinces and municipalities, pointing out that “the public debate is focused on debt and the distribution of positions, but the province continues without reviewing or making the expenditures of the provinces and municipalities more efficient.”
He added: “There is no serious plan to organize or rationalize the state, and once again the decision is being made to increase financial pressure on citizens, families and producers, instead of cutting privileges, abolishing overlapping structures, or modernizing public administration.”
It is worth noting that methane emissions in Argentina come mainly from agriculture, especially livestock farming, the energy sector and waste management. In 2022, enteric fermentation of livestock was responsible for 54% of methane emissions, followed by the oil and gas industry at 17%, and solid waste at 12%. The agriculture and livestock sector is considered the main source, due to ruminant fermentation and manure management, according to data from the Our World portal in Bayanat.
The energy sector contributes through leaks and venting to the production and distribution of gas and oil, with a significant increase in emissions in recent years due to extraction at Vaca Muerta.
Decomposition of waste in open dumps also generates methane, and massive leaks have been recorded in large landfills such as the North 3 sanitary landfill in Buenos Aires.
Internationally, Denmark is poised to become the first country to impose taxes on methane emissions from livestock belching and flatulence, which is the second most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.
Starting in 2030, methane emissions from Danish cattle and pigs will be taxed at 300 kroner ($44) per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent, a figure that will rise to 750 kroner ($102) in 2035, according to an agreement reached in 2024 between the government, part of the opposition and representatives of the livestock sectors, industry and unions.