"Reducing emissions from agriculture to meet the 2 °C target" by Eva Wollenberg, Meryl Richards et al.

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Title

Reducing emissions from agriculture to meet the 2 °C target

Authors

Eva Wollenberg, CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change
Meryl Richards, CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change
Pete Smith, Scottish Food Security Alliance-Crops
Petr Havlík, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg
Michael Obersteiner, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg
Francesco N. Tubiello, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Martin Herold, Wageningen University & Research
Pierre Gerber, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Sarah Carter, Wageningen University & Research
Andrew Reisinger, New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre
Detlef P. van Vuuren, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency
Amy Dickie, California Environmental Associates
Henry Neufeldt, World Agroforestry Centre
Björn O. Sander, International Rice Research Institute
Reiner Wassmann, International Rice Research Institute
Rolf Sommer, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical
James E. Amonette, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Alessandra Falcucci, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Mario Herrero, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization
Carolyn Opio, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Rosa Maria Roman-Cuesta, Wageningen University & Research
Elke Stehfest, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency
Henk Westhoek, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency
Ivan Ortiz-Monasterio, Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo
Tek Sapkota, Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo
Mariana C. Rufino, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
Philip K. Thornton, CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change
Louis Verchot, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
Paul C. West, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Jean François Soussana, Centre Clermont-Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Tobias Baedeker, The World Bank, USA

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2016

Abstract

More than 100 countries pledged to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the 2015 Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Yet technical information about how much mitigation is needed in the sector vs. how much is feasible remains poor. We identify a preliminary global target for reducing emissions from agriculture of ~1 GtCO2e yr−1 by 2030 to limit warming in 2100 to 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. Yet plausible agricultural development pathways with mitigation cobenefits deliver only 21–40% of needed mitigation. The target indicates that more transformative technical and policy options will be needed, such as methane inhibitors and finance for new practices. A more comprehensive target for the 2 °C limit should be developed to include soil carbon and agriculture-related mitigation options. Excluding agricultural emissions from mitigation targets and plans will increase the cost of mitigation in other sectors or reduce the feasibility of meeting the 2 °C limit.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Rights Information

Recommended Citation

Wollenberg E, Richards M, Smith P, Havlík P, Obersteiner M, Tubiello FN, Herold M, Gerber P, Carter S, Reisinger A, van Vuuren DP. Reducing emissions from agriculture to meet the 2 C target. Global change biology. 2016 Dec;22(12):3859-64.