A few months ago in this very column, I suggested that we need to find technological solutions to help tackle climate change, citing the NASA space programme of the 1960s as an inspiration.

Well, an ingenious device that may dramatically reduce the emissions from cattle has been developed. It could be a game-changer. Surprisingly, it didn’t emerge from the laboratory of one of the great science universities, but rather the Royal College of Art.

The Zero Emissions Livestock Project (ZELP) is the brainchild of brothers Francisco and Patricio Norris, who come from a cattle farm in Argentina.

While people talk about cattle farting, most bovine gaseous emissions are released as belches, as the animal breaks down food in its four-stomach system

How does it work? It’s a simple gizmo placed on the nose of a bovine. Its primary purpose is to break methane down into carbon dioxide and water vapour, which carry far less of a carbon footprint, up to 85 times less, in fact.

While people talk about cattle farting, most bovine gaseous emissions are released as belches, as the animal breaks down food in its four-stomach system. As the gases pass through the ZELP, they are immediately broken down and rendered less harmful.

This at a stroke could allow the national herd to remain at its current level while fulfilling the most ambitious of targets currently being placed on the shoulders of Irish agriculture

If successful, it would reduce the carbon footprint of the Irish beef and dairy herd to a fraction of its current output. This at a stroke could allow the national herd to remain at its current level while fulfilling the most ambitious of targets currently being placed on the shoulders of Irish agriculture.

It almost sounds too simple to be true, but is set for extensive trialling in Argentina over the next six months.

The hope is to have it ready commercially for 2020.

Ah, but how much will this miraculous machine cost, I hear you ask. Would you believe me if I tell you that the intention is for it to be available to farmers free of charge?

Instead, they intend to derive income streams from low-emission sustainability-driven beef and dairy products, from their carbon credits derived from the ZELP’s use, and from ownership of the data stream from the appliance.

In the wake of the Climate Change Advisory Council’s proposal of a drastic cut in the beef herd, and a capping of the dairy herd, it’s a welcome ray of sunshine.

From moon landing to moo branding, the boffins could save us all yet. Even the suckler cow.