Reducing Food Waste and Changing Diet Could Drastically Reduce Agricultural Emissions

31st January 2018 by CMIA

A new analysis of agricultural emissions by the Climate Action Tracker shows that reducing emissions through changes in farming practices alone will not be enough to limit global warming to 1.5°C, but changing our diets and reducing food waste could make significant additional reductions, which calls for a much more holistic approach.

Agriculture accounts for roughly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and as much as 50% of non-CO2emissions, at 5–6 GtCO2e/year.  To limit warming to 2°C, we need to reduce non-CO2 agricultural emissions by at least 1 GtCO2e/year—an 11%–18% reduction by 2030 (and larger reductions thereafter), compared with a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario.  However, to meet the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C warming limit, that reduction would need to more than double to 2.7 GtCO2e/year.

The briefing, as part of the CAT’s decarbonisation series, looks at options for mitigating non-CO2emissions from agriculture from two angles: key areas “on the field,” and trends in consumer behaviour.

Find more information in the press release.

Source: https://www.ecofys.com/en/news/reducing-food-waste-and-changing-diet-could-drastically-reduce-agricultural/