Reducing emissions from agriculture to meet the 2 °C target

Abstract

More than 100 countries pledged to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the 2015 Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Yet technical information about how much mitigation is needed in the sector vs. how much is feasible remains poor. We identify a preliminary global target for reducing emissions from agriculture of~1 GtCO 2 e yr À1 by 2030 to limit warming in 2100 to 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Yet plausible agricultural development pathways with mitigation cobenefits deliver only 21-40% of needed mitigation. The target indicates that more transformative technical and policy options will be needed, such as methane inhibitors and finance for new practices. A more comprehensive target for the 2°C limit should be developed to include soil carbon and agriculture-related mitigation options. Excluding agricultural emissions from mitigation targets and plans will increase the cost of mitigation in other sectors or reduce the feasibility of meeting the 2°C limit.

Biochar research activities and their relation to development and environmental quality. A meta-analysis

“…agriculture and forestry) to the changing climate (FAO 2009;IPCC 2000IPCC , 2013Hallegatte et al 2016). Recently, Wollenberg et al (2016) stated that agriculture can contribute to the 2°C target for limiting global warming, but reliable strategies and technologies are required to manage, e.g. agricultural emissions of CH 4 and N 2 O (IPCC 2013).…”

The Estimation and Mitigation of Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock

“…In the context of the agreed maximum warming target of 2°C agreed in Paris an analysis by Wollenberg et al (2016) states that "plausible agricultural development pathways with mitigation co-benefits deliver only 21 to 40% of needed mitigation". While there may be debates around what agriculture's 'share' of any GHG mitigation target should be, this analysis does highlight the fact that relying on improvements in efficiency on their own are unlikely to provide sufficient mitigation from the sector in the context of a 2°C maximum warming target.…”

Food Security in a Changing Climate: A Plea for Ambitious Action and Inclusive Development

“…That said, the exact contribution of food systems to climate change is not certain -the low-end hypothesis ranks food systems emissions as ranging from 19 to 29 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions (Vermeulen et al 2012), while high-end hypothesis allocates them 44 to 57 percent of this total (GRAIN 2011). Agriculture is responsible for 56 percent of nitrous oxide and methane emissions (Wollemberg et al 2016), two GHG respectively 25 and 298 times more impactful than carbon dioxide.…”