The agriculture sector is highly susceptible to the impacts of climate change as extreme weather events can affect agricultural productivity. Ironically, the sector is also a major contributor to these changes.
(excluding land use change) have risen by more than 20 percent since 1990 as populations and
have grown. The sector accounts for roughly 12 percent of annual global GHG emissions, and is the largest anthropogenic source of methane and nitrous oxide emissions, two potent GHGs with
’s far greater than carbon dioxide.
What are the main sources of agriculture emissions?
There are many
sources of emissions linked to agriculture, such as crop and livestock production, as well as those caused by the conversion of natural vegetation to agricultural land use. The biggest overall emitter within the farm gate is livestock, which are believed to account for roughly seven percent of
global GHG emissions. Livestock emissions mainly come from enteric fermentation, which is a part of the digestive process in ruminant animals, such as cattle, that produces large amounts of methane. Other notable agricultural polluters include rice cultivation, soils, and fertilizer use. Agricultural production is estimated to account for 40 percent of
global food system emissions, which some experts put at roughly 18 GtCO₂e per year.
Biggest emitters in the agriculture sector
The largest share of global
agriculture-related GHG emissions stem from Asia, where some four GtCO₂e are produced every year on agricultural lands. Much of these emissions are produced in China and India, which are the sector’s biggest polluters when considering only farmgate emissions. When land use is also considered, Brazil ranks as the
biggest agricultural emitter worldwide. This is mainly due to deforestation in the Amazon for soybean farming and grazing lands for cattle. When deforestation occurs, carbon once stored in trees is released back into the atmosphere. Brazil is home to some of the
most polluting meat and dairy companies in the world, such as JSA and Marfrig, who are responsible for releasing millions of tons of methane into the atmosphere every year.
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