By mid-2024 Danone, Nestle, General Mills, Lactalis USA, Kraft Heinz and Bel Group will begin reporting emissions and develop action plans, though won’t set specific reduction targets as a group. 

Cutting methane emissions is considered a key part of limiting global warming using possible solutions like feed additives for livestock.  

Australia has signed up to the voluntary global methane pledge to cut emissions by 30 per cent by 2030. 

Mr Elsom is the boss of Australian green technology company Sea Forest, which is developing a feed supplement – using a red seaweed native to Australia – that can slash the methane emissions of cows and sheep.

"So, when we talk about greenhouse gases, the United Nations puts them into what they call GWP, or global warming potential, and they benchmark all gases against carbon.

"Methane is a gas, it's a short-lived atmospheric gas, and in the first year that it's emitted into the atmosphere it has 120 times' the warming effect of carbon dioxide."​