Crop production, livestock production and related land use activities make the agriculture sector one of the largest sources of short-lived climate pollutants. Combined, the agriculture and forestry sectors are responsible for 24% of all greenhouse gases emitted worldwide, including roughly 40% of global black carbon emissions and half of all anthropogenic methane emissions.
As powerful greenhouse gases and air pollutants, short-lived climate pollutants negatively impact the productivity of some of the world’s most important crops and endanger the health and livelihoods of millions of people.
According to a report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and United Nations Environment (UNEP), actions to reduce short-lived climate pollutant emissions - both in the agriculture sector and globally - have the potential to prevent over 50 million tonnes of annual crop losses for the staples corn, rice, soy, and wheat by 2030, leading to total economic gains of US$4-33 billion. These actions can also help slow the rate of global warming by as much as 0.5˚C by 2050 and prevent the nearly two million annual premature deaths linked to air pollution by 2030.
The Coalition’s Agriculture Initiative works to advance methane and black carbon abatement and recovery practices within the sector. In addition to helping reduce the rate of near-term warming, these practices can provide immediate co-benefits for public health, food security and economic development, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and low-emissions agricultural development.
Tackling agricultural methane and black carbon emissions is an important objective for many countries, and many of the solutions advanced by the Coalition’s 11 initiatives will lead to increased agricultural productivity and contribute to the implementation of countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
The Agriculture Initiative focuses its activities on the four largest emission sources in the sector:
In collaboration with the FAO, World Bank and Global Environment Facility, the initiative is supporting three large national livestock management programmes with more than $460 million in Uruguay, Ethiopia and Bangladesh. The programmes will incorporate the mitigation options for the livestock sector assessed by the initiative and have the potential to reduce approximately 4 million tonnes of methane per annum.
5-year milestones:
Over the last year, the Coalition has increased high-level engagement and developed a robust framework for a multiple benefits pathway approach. Key results from our 11 initiatives are reflected...
This document presents results from the Climate & Clean Air Coalition’s Agriculture Initiative reported between July 2016 and June 2017. These results were recorded using the...
Lead Partner: A Coalition partner with an active role in coordinating, monitoring and guiding the work of an initiative.
Implementer: A Coalition partner or actor receiving Coalition funds to implement an activity or initiative.
The Manure Knowledge Kiosk is a platform for knowledge exchange, outreach and capacity building on integrated manure management. The kiosk is supported by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC...
This website serves as an information kiosk for greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation options in rice production systems. It covers rice management practices, data on biophysical and...
This brief follows on from the Climate and Clean Air Coalition’s high-level roundtable at the Global Climate Action Summit in September 2018 and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s...
The discussion process of the Brazilian Forum on Climate Change (FBMC) for Brazil's Nationally Determined Contribution Implementation Proposal (NDC) has been carried out in the nine Thematic...
In Peru, more than 70 percent of cattle are in the Sierra under an extensive system of grazing of both natural pastures and cultivated pastures where the national livestock is maintained. In the...
The Nationally Determined Contribution (hereinafter NDC) aims at attending the provisions established under the Paris Agreement, as well as to promote adaptation and mitigation measures in Uruguay...
Agricultural-livestock production in the countries of South America has increased strongly in the last 20 years in response to the growing demand for food. The maintenance of this productivity, as...
The "NAMA in the coffee sector" project in Costa Rica is supporting the spread of implementation of agronomic best practices in terms of : waste management to create energy through a...
On March 15 Sweden presented the "Report for Sweden on assessment of projected progress, March 2017", which provides information on implemented policies and measures and projections of...