Mitigation of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions...Mitigation of agricultural greenhouse gas...

A Climate for Change: opportunities for carbon-efficient farming

Mitigation of agriculturalgreenhouse gas emissions

Dr. Frank O’MaraDirector of Research

Teagasc


Outline of presentation

• Global perspective on emissions fromagriculture and mitigation potential

• Relate global position to Irish situation


Global issue receiving hugeattention from major organisations


Source: CIAT, WRI


Profile of agricultural emissions

38%

32%

12%

11%

7%

N2O soilsCH4 entericBiomass burningRice mgmt.other

Agriculture Emissions 200511%

38%

51%

Manure ManagementAgricultural SoilsEnteric Fermentation

Irish Agricultural Emissions 2005Global


Global agricultural emissions -trend and baseline

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

billi

onto

nne

sof

CO

2eq

1990 2005 2030

IPCC, 2007


1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 20200

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

GH

GE

mis

sio

ns

inA

gri

cul

ture

(Mt

CO

2eq.

y-1)

ME&NASSAfricaS AsiaLA&CE Asia

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 20200

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

GH

GE

mis

sio

ns

inA

gric

ult

ure

(Mt

CO

2eq

.y-

1)

OECD PacC&E EurFSUW EurOECD NA

There are differenttrends and driversin different regions

Developing regions

Developed regions andeconomies in transition

US-EPA (2006)

1990-2005:Developed countries, EIT: -12%Developing countries: +32%


Emissions vs output – 1990 to 2005Whole milk production

150.0200.0250.0300.0350.0

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

mil

lion

tonn

es

Agric GHG emissions +17%

Beef +13%

Milk +39%

Mutton/lgoat +31%

Pigmeat +44%

Poultry meat +102%

Eggs +61%Source: FAOSTAT

Meat and egg production

0.0

50.0

100.0

150.0

1990

1993

1996

1999

2002

2005

mill

ion

ton

nes

Bovine Meat

Eggs

Mutton & Goat

Pigmeat

Poultry Meat


Relative contribution of world regions to milkproduction and GHG emissions associated with

milk production, processing and transport

Source: Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Dairy Sector A LifeCycle Assessment, FAO, April 2010


Estimates of Global AgriculturalGHG Emissions

1.7

5.16.1

7.1

0123

45678

910

Denman etal (2007)

US EPA(2006)

FAO (2006)

Billiontonnes of

CO2 eq

Livestock productionincluding production offeed for animals,production of inputs,transport andprocessing

Why the difference?

Total agricultureemissions


Why the difference?

FAO (2006 - Livestock’s Long Shadow)takes a Life Cycle approach, and includesCO2 emissions from other sources

Main additional source is deforestationwhere land is cleared for new pastures orcrops used as animal feed:

2.4 billion tonnes of CO2 eq out of totalof 7.1 billion total livestock emissions


Paragraph 70 -GHG emissionsfrom land-usechange in tropicalcountries (about7.6 Gt CO2 eq)exceed emissionsfrom all otheragriculturalsourcescombined andcontinue to growas areas ofcropland andpasture landincrease.


Agricultural land area

UNFCCC (2008)


Global biophysical mitigation potentialin agriculture

-200

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

Cro

plan

dm

anag

emen

t

Wat

erm

anag

emen

t

Ric

em

anag

emen

t

Set

asid

e,L

UC

&ag

rofo

rest

ry

Gra

zing

land

man

agem

ent

Res

tore

culti

vat

edor

gani

cso

ils

Res

tore

deg

rade

dla

nds

Bio

ener

gy(s

oils

com

pone

nt)

Liv

esto

ck

Man

ure

man

agem

ent

Mitigation measure

Glo

balb

ioph

ysic

alm

itiga

tion

pote

ntia

l(M

tCO2-e

q.yr

-1)

N2OCH4CO2

Smith et al. (2007)

Total biophysical mitigation potential is 5500 –6000 Mt of CO2 equivalent


Effect of C price on implementation

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Res

tore

culti

vate

dor

gani

cso

ils

Cro

plan

dm

anag

emen

t

Gra

zing

land

man

agem

ent

Res

tore

degr

aded

land

s

Ric

em

anag

emen

t

Liv

esto

ck

Set

asid

e,L

UC

&ag

rofo

rest

ry

Man

ure

man

agem

ent

Measure

MtC

O2-

eq.y

r-1

up to 20 USD t CO2-eq.-1up to 50 USD t CO2-eq.-1up to 100 USD t CO2-eq.-1

Smith et al. (2007)


Economic Mitigation PotentialEconomic Potential 2030 (GtCO2-eq/yr)

4.4 (2.3-6.4)100

8.2Emissions 2030

2.7 (1.5-3.9)50

1.6 (0.3-2.4)20

AgricultureCarbon price(US$/tCO2-eq)

Mitigation practices in AgricultureCropland management; Restoration of organic soils; Restoration of degradedlands; Rice management; Grazing land management – 90% of potential iscarbon sequestration

IPCC (2007)


High and low estimates of themitigation potential in each region

-200

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

Sou

thea

stA

sia

Sou

thA

mer

ica

Eas

tAsia

Sou

thA

sia

Eas

tern

Afr

ica

Rus

sian

Fede

ratio

n

Nor

thA

mer

ica

Wes

tern

Eur

ope

Wes

tern

Afr

ica

Cen

tralA

sia

Nor

ther

nE

urop

e

Mid

dle

Afr

ica

Eas

tern

Eur

ope

Oce

ania

Sout

hern

Eur

ope

Cen

tral

Am

eric

a

Nor

ther

nA

fric

a

Wes

tern

Asia

Sout

hern

Afr

ica

Car

ribe

an

Japa

n

Poly

nesi

a

Region

MtC

O2-

eq.y

r-1

Smith et al. (2007)


Land degradation - % of dry areasdegraded

Continent Total area Percentage degraded

million km2

Africa 14,326 73

Asia 18,814 71

Australia & Pacific 7,012 54

Europe 1,456 65

North America 5,782 74

South America 4,207 73

Total 51,597 70FAO (2006)


Messages for Ireland• Mix of GHG is different in Ireland• Big global mitigation potential in relation to C

sequestration but mitigation options around this arelimited in Ireland– Little degraded land– Cropland and pastures generally well managed

• Important to limit need for deforestation for foodproduction

• Ireland is an efficient food producer• Mitigation possibilities in Ireland around efficiency• Role of forestry and energy crops• Ireland part of major global research effort to find new

solutions

Mitigation of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions...Mitigation of agricultural greenhouse gas...

Documents

Transcript of Mitigation of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions...Mitigation of agricultural greenhouse gas...