Agriculture- an easy target to meet climate goals

Agriculture- an easy target to meet climate goals

Subject: Environment

Section: International Conventions

In the news:

• A media report revealed that the government was deliberating plans to cull some 200,000 cows over the course of three years, at an yearly cost of €200 million (around US $211.5 million) to be paid to farmers as compensation, for meeting the country’s climate emission goals. The news triggered large-scale farmer protests.
• High-income nations across the world seem to have chosen agriculture as a priority sector to enforce emissions cut for meeting their national climate targets.

Announcements or plans declared by countries since 2022 to curb greenhouse gas emissions from livestock and agriculture-

Emissions from the agriculture sector:

• Methane (from livestock belching, flatulence and dung) and nitrous oxide (from nitrogen fertilisers) are the two main greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the agriculture sector. Methane and nitrous oxide account for 16 per cent and 6 per cent of global GHGS.
  • Emissions and storage from soil carbon (which is counted in land use) and farm energy use are not counted as part of agricultural emissions.

Methane emissions:

• Methane is the second most abundant greenhouse gas (GHG) after carbon dioxide (CO2), accounting for 20 per cent of global emissions.
• It is 25 times potent than CO2, but short-lived and is responsible for about half of the net rise in global average temperature since the pre-industrial era.
• Methane from livestock originates as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that is taken up by grass and other plants during photosynthesis.
• These plants are eaten by animals, who then burp methane during digestion, or release it as flatulence. The gas is also released through decaying manure.
• About 32 per cent of global anthropogenic methane come from microbial processes that occur during the enteric fermentation of ruminant livestock and manure management systems, while oil and gas operations contribute about 63 per cent.
• Methane is of two main types — biogenic (produced from plants and animals) and fossil (which has been locked up underground for millions of years).
  • Biogenic methane has an atmospheric life of about a decade, before it becomes carbon dioxide (CO2) and is taken up by plants again, followed by the same cycle of plants being eaten by animals.
  • Methane from fossil fuels adds CO2 to the atmosphere. It is linked with leaks from coal mining and flaring from oil and gas drilling, transport of fossil fuels, and natural sources like onshore seeps.

Two main multilateral treaties to deal with agricultural emissions:

1. Global Methane Pledge (GMP), which has been signed by 149 countries since its launch in 2021 at the Conference of the Parties (COP) to UNFCCC held at Glasgow, Ireland.
   • The signatory nations have pledged to cut methane emissions by 25 per cent by 2030 compared to 2020 levels.
2. The European Green Deal, a Europe-specific treaty announced in 2020 and signed by 27 countries, which are required to reduce their GHG emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
   • A Nature Restoration Law, passed in July 2023 under the deal, aims to restore and recover nature on at least 20 per cent of EU land and sea area by 2030, through binding targets relating to habitat and species restoration.

Animal product and food security:

• Animal products make a substantial contribution to food security, providing protein and micro-nutrients.
• The global demand for animal products will increase by 60 to 70 per cent by 2050.
• Measures under the Green Deal of EU will decrease meat supply by 14 per cent and raw milk supply by 10 per cent.

Source: Down To Earth