Methane-releasing cow ‘burps’ are a major global contributor to climate instability. Could a vaccine fix that?

The methane emitted by the world’s billion-plus belching cattle has roughly the same impact on the climate as all the passenger vehicles on the planet and four times the impact of all airlines, according to Colin South, chief executive of ArkeaBio, a Boston agricultural biotechnology firm.

Carbon dioxide may get more attention, but methane is more potent, with 84 times the warming power over a 20-year period, according to European Union energy experts. ArkeaBio is working on a vaccine that would be administered to cattle not to prevent disease but to reduce methane emissions caused by a group of microorganisms in their stomachs.

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Justin Tupper, president of the United States Cattlemen’s Association, said he doesn’t believe that cow burps are a major contributor of greenhouse gases and called the notion of vaccinating cattle to reduce methane “laughable.”

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ArkeaBio is working on a vaccine that would target a methane-producing subset called methanogens. The vaccine would stimulate antibodies to bind to and neutralize methanogens. There’s no indication that this would harm cattle, South said.

The shot would likely be administered a couple of times a year. Cattle already receive regular vaccinations to protect them from brucellosis, respiratory diseases, bovine viral diarrhea, and other ailments.