"The science and policy communities in Europe and beyond have focused most of their attention to date on improving energy efficiency and scaling up renewables," said Sara Scherr, co-author of the report, which examines the climate change mitigation potential of food and land use.
While the latter are essential in the transition to a low-carbon economy, "any strategy that seeks to mitigate global climate change without reducing emissions from agriculture, forestry and other land uses is doomed to fail," she added.
The report argues that more than 30% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are linked to agriculture and land use, an amount that rivals the total emissions of the transportation and industry sectors combined. Meanwhile, innovations in food production and land use that are "ready to be scaled-up today" could reduce CO2 emissions by the equivalent of some 25% of global fossil fuel emissions, the authors argue.
They also note that carbon capture and sequestration technologies currently being developed will only sequester CO2 which has yet to be released, while agricultural and other land use management practices can, through photosynthesis, remove greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere.
The authors propose a five-fold strategy for doing so.
First, as soil is "the third-largest carbon pool on Earth's surface," they underline the need to enrich soil carbon by reducing both tillage and nitrogen fertiliser use. Preventing erosion and building up organic matter also contributes to storing additional carbon, they note.
Second, the authors propose a shift from growing annual grains to farming with perennials, as they "maintain and develop their roots and branches over many years, storing carbon in the vegetation and soil".
As for reducing livestock production -related emissions, the report highlights several options like rotational grazing, manure management, methane capture for biogas production and improved feeds and feed additives.
The authors also urge protection of natural habitat through incentives for farmers, ranchers and foresters to avoid deforestation and land clearing and help prevent forest and grassland fires. Such incentives would include product certification, payments for climate services, secure tenure rights, and community fire control, for example.
They also underline the emissions reduction potential of restoring vegetation on degraded watersheds and pasture. Such measures would not only make land productive again but would also alleviate rural poverty.
In addition to the concrete measures which are already applicable, the report calls for the incorporation of terrestrial emissions into climate investment and policy, and the promotion of voluntary markets for greenhouse gas emission offsets from agriculture and land use "while working out rules for regulated markets".
