The trade-off between food production and greenhouse gas mitigation in Norwegian agriculture

Abstract

Norwegian agriculture makes a disproportionate contribution to the country's emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) relative to its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP)-a picture that is repeated globally. Using a detailed economic model we examine what impacts an assumed 30 per cent cut in GHG emissions from agriculture may have on food production. We find that a CO 2 tax on agricultural activity would result in a reduction of agricultural production, particularly of GHG-intensive commodities such as beef and sheepmeat. The use of feed and fertilizer would fall. There would be an extensification of production and emissions per hectare would decline. In contrast, if farmers are rewarded for carbon sequestration through agroforestry, this would lead to intensification. More inputs would be applied to land that remained in agriculture and emissions per unit of agricultural land would increase. Although the numerical results are specific to the Norwegian setting, they are illustrative of global issues. If agriculture is to meet the food needs of an expanding world population while simultaneously contributing to mitigation of GHG emissions, this will require the intensification of production-higher output per unit of land with higher emissions per unit of land area, but with lower emissions per unit of agricultural production.

The role of agriculture in global GHG mitigation

“…The work also showed significant environmental co-benefits from reductions in soil erosion and leakage of nutrients to water supplies, at all carbon prices. A similar approach applied to Norway (Blandford, Gaasland and Vårdal, 2014a) showed that a significant reduction in heavily-supported beef and sheepmeat production is needed to achieve a 30% reduction in emissions, but that changes in dairy policy (relaxation of production quotas) could facilitate mitigation in dairy production by increasing productivity. Mitigation would also be facilitated if farmers were rewarded for undertaking carbon sequestration activities (agroforestry) on marginal land, thereby avoiding significant contraction in agricultural output, in line with the government's policy objective of preserving agricultural activity in the country.…”

Carbon dioxide emission reduction by heating poultry houses from renewable energy sources in Central Europe

“…These facts have motivated many researches to search for solutions targeted at lowering the emissions (Franks and Hadingham, 2012;Beukes et al, 2010;Dalgaard et al, 2011;Johnson et al, 2007;Vergé et al, 2007;Guo and Zhou, 2007;Smith et al, 2007;Glenk et al, 2014;Blandford et al, 2014;Eory et al, 2013;Winiwarter et al, 2014 andSnyder et al, 2014).…”

Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Norwegian Agriculture: The Regional and Structural Dimension

“…The concrete climate actions taken to achieve this goal are disputed and remain unclear. A potential conflict of GHG emission reductions and other agricultural policy objectives has so far been discussed at the national level [2,3]. This paper contributes to this knowledge gap by questioning the extent to which the regional distribution of agricultural activity and changes in farm size affect GHG emissions from agriculture.…”