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Climate Change and Agriculture

Mitigation in the agricultural sector is gaining in profile in the UNFCCC negotiations. The agricultural sector has the potential to contribute substantially to greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions with potential ranges from 5 to 20 per cent of total carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by 2030, and a global mitigation potential (excluding fossil fuel offsets from biomass) ranging from 5.5 to 6 gigatonnes of CO₂ equivalent per year by 2030. The IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report shows that agriculture is a relatively cost-effective option for significant GHG emission reductions in the short term, and most of the mitigation potential arises from sink enhancement through soil carbon sequestration. The required transformation in energy systems and infrastructure will take time to put in place, meaning that agriculture could have a significant role to play in meeting short- to medium-term GHG emissions reduction targets.

Emission reductions in the agricultural sector can be a meaningful way for many developing countries to contribute to the goal of the UNFCCC and participate in a future climate regime. The IPCC report estimates that 70 per cent of the mitigation potential in agriculture is in developing countries. Sustainable agricultural practices that mitigate carbon can have important co-benefits, including increased soil fertility and productivity, enhanced resistance to drought and extreme weather and better capacity to adapt to climate change. Sustainable agriculture can contribute significantly to increased food production, as well as make a significant impact on the welfare and livelihoods of rural people. Despite the significant potential and important sustainable development benefits, minimal progress has been made to capitalize on opportunities in this sector, mainly because of complexities, perceived or otherwise, around accounting, monitoring, verification, non-permanence and other issues.

IISD's work related to climate change and agriculture has been supported by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Publications

• Expanding Agriculture's Role in a Post-2012 Regime (PDF - 712 kb)
  This paper examines how agriculture can be effectively included in a post-2012 regime, examining issues related to the concerns of developing and developed countries. The paper explores Canadian considerations and interests in the climate negotiations on agriculture and puts forward a suggested framework for Canada's approach to agriculture in post-2012 negotiations–a framework that aims to increase opportunities for acting on the potential for agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions in developing countries.

Related Publication

• Climate Change Mitigation through Land-Use Measures in the Agriculture and Forestry Sectors
  English (PDF - 383 kb) - Français (PDF - 408 kb)
  This paper reviews the status of the post-2012 negotiations on climate change mitigation through land-use measures in the agriculture and forestry sectors. These land-use sectors–agriculture and forestry–can potentially play a large role in the global efforts to address climate change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, but they are largely excluded from the current international policy framework. The paper examines why these sectors are important, how these issues are addressed in the current negotiations, and what are some of the major issues and considerations when considering their inclusion in a new climate change agreement. The conclusion puts forward questions that will need to be addressed over 2009 as the world moves closer toward elaborating a post-2012 regime for international action on climate change.

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