Annual emissions reductions from agriculture must reach 1 GtCO2e per year by 2030 to stay within 2°C warming limit

In the wake of the Paris Agreement, there is increased recognition of the need for mitigation in agriculture.
But how much mitigation from agriculture is needed to limit climate change? Photo: IRRI

Current agricultural interventions will only deliver 21-40% of target, indicating need for transformative technical and policy options.

The Paris Agreement, signed in 2016 by 177 countries and counting, indicates a global commitment to limiting climate change to 2°C. In parallel to the Paris Agreement, countries submitted 162 climate change adaptation and mitigation plans to the United Nations. Three-quarters of plans included intentions to reduce emissions in the agriculture sector.

Translating national plans to global impacts on climate change is not possible without clear and measurable targets for emissions reductions. In response to this gap, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), with 21 partners, put forward a preliminary target for agriculture, published in the journal Global Change Biology in May 2016. Read full story