The study, based on extensive global datasets, models and data from more than 100 studies, indicates more than half of the warming. Around 55%, could be avoided by changing agricultural practices, decarbonizing the energy used to produce food, changing consumer food choices, and reducing food waste. The main agricultural sources of greenhouse gases identified by the study: the production of meat, dairy and rice.
“This study highlights the urgent need for action to reduce food system emissions,” said lead author Catherine IvanovicPhD Candidate at Columbia Climate Institute Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory“By understanding which foods and greenhouse gases contribute the most to future warming, we can address these emissions with targeted strategies that both reduce future climate change and promote food security.”
A business-as-usual food system projected to cause global warming by the end of the century is responsible for nearly 60 percent of the methane emissions, mostly from livestock burp and manure, rice fields and decomposing food waste. Carbon dioxide from fuel used in agricultural equipment and food transport, and nitrous oxide from excess synthetic fertilizers on pastures and ruminant manure each account for about 20 percent.
The study quantified the mitigation potential of four solutions. Improving production practices and adopting technologies that reduce methane and nitrous oxide emissions from livestock could reduce emissions by 25 percent by the end of the century, the researchers say. These changes may come from the expansion of innovative solutions to methane emissions from ruminant viscera, as well as the widespread adoption of better manure management methods. Emissions from ruminant meat, dairy products and non-ruminant meat could be reduced by 35%, 30% and 10% respectively by 2100.
Decarbonizing the energy used to produce, process and transport food by 2050 would reduce projected warming of the global food system by 17% by 2100, in line with the international net-zero emissions target, the researchers said.
If health-focused recommendations were adopted globally, the world could avoid 21% of the projected food system-driven warming. However, because dietary choices are extremely complex, often dictated by cultural traditions and food access patterns, it is difficult to assess the extent to which this mitigation potential is realistic or ethical, the researchers note.
Halving food waste at the consumer level by 2100 would reduce projected warming by an additional 5%, the study said. However, due to data limitations, the study was unable to assess food waste generated during production and transportation, which could represent another important opportunity for mitigation.
“Our findings offer a set of solutions for policymakers, industry and the public,” said the co-authors Eliza OkkoSenior Climate Scientist Environmental Defense Fund“We can feed a growing population, support farmers, pastoralists and rural communities around the world, and still make important steps towards more sustainable and equitable food systems. Solutions vary around the world, But we should all work together towards the common goal of stabilizing the climate.”
Adapted from a press release from the Environmental Defense Fund.
