Global Courant 2023-05-04 18:43:15
Agriculture has been a fundamental aspect of human civilization since ancient times, playing a vital role in providing food and other vital resources necessary for human survival. The sector has been a driver of economic growth, food security and employment for many people, particularly in developing countries where a significant portion of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods. However, agriculture continues to be a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, a potent greenhouse gas responsible for a significant portion of global warming.
A new report, “Global Innovation Needs Assessment: Food Systems Methanefunded by the Global methane hub And ClimateWorks Foundation revealed that the food system currently accounts for an estimated 60% of global human-caused methane emissions, most of which stem from agricultural activities. The potent greenhouse gas will continue to have major climate impacts on the three billion people who work in the agricultural sector.
So limiting climate change to no more than 1.5°C warming will require rapid and ambitious reductions in agricultural methane. The new report details innovations in three key sectors of the global food system — livestock (including diet shifts), food loss and waste, and rice cultivation — that could eliminate more than 5.6 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050.
In the livestock sector, direct mitigation technologies such as methane-inhibiting feed additives and vaccinations have shown that they can reduce methane emissions with cost-saving benefits. In the food loss and waste industry, advancements in waste detection and analysis, such as cold chain interventions that include on- and off-grid refrigeration and supply chain management techniques, can help.
When it comes to rice cultivation, management practices that focus on water and straw management in rice paddies are crucial. Direct mitigation practices, such as replacing urea fertilizers with ammonium sulfate or using alternative methane-inhibiting compounds, can also be effective in reducing emissions.
The report shows that a high level of investment is required to research, develop and commercialize these innovations in regions where new technologies can deliver remarkable results.
According to Hayden Montgomery, Agriculture Program Director at the Global Methane Hub, investing in improved productivity to reduce methane emissions is a win-win opportunity for our global economy and farmers and essential in the short term. “Philanthropy can play a role in catalyzing public and private investment in breakthrough R&D – and the return on investment is shared by all,” he said.
The report shows that a five-fold increase in annual investment by 2035 could yield twelve-fold greater long-term benefits for developing and commercializing innovation. The report’s food system innovations could collectively reduce the cost of meeting a 1.5°C climate target by $100 billion by 2030 and $1 trillion by 2050.
“Reducing methane emissions from agriculture will bring a wide range of benefits, such as increased food security, improved human health, conservation and better support for farmers,” he said. Avery Cohn, Director of the Food and Agriculture Program at ClimateWorks Foundation. “Investing in new technologies and broadening access to existing methods can grow our global economy and reduce pollution to ensure a thriving climate for all.”
Methane innovations can support broader food system decarbonization by reducing other greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide savings from avoided land use change and increased carbon sequestration potential. Reducing pollution, sustainable product offerings and improving productivity are three key opportunities.
“Rice farmers face ever-increasing adverse impacts from climate change on a daily basis, but adoption of low-carbon innovations is slow due to lack of incentives and capacity,” said Vu Duong Quynh, Vice Chief of the Department of Environmental Chemistry of the Vietnam Institute for Agriculture Environment (IAE). “This report helps Vietnam prioritize our efforts to reduce methane emissions in the implementation of our National Action Plan for the Global Methane Promise.”
“Transformative, rapid changes in the food system are needed to achieve a 1.5°C future, many of which are directly related to methane,” he said. Carlos Gonzalez Fischer, research associate in the Department of Global Development at Cornell University. “This report provides the blueprint for tackling methane in the food system before it gets worse. Innovations to reduce agriculture’s climate footprint and address food insecurity are needed to uplift our global community.”
Vivid Economics conducted the report analysis under the guidance of a seven-member advisory board that provided peer review. The committee also wrote a letter with policy recommendations available for download.
The African Challenge.
While investments in methane innovations in the food system are increasing, they are still insufficient to unlock the full potential of mitigation, economic benefits and co-benefits. In Africa, for example, the food system sector is largely perceived as risky, resulting in a low investment rate.
Speaking at the press briefing, Avery Cohn stressed the need for synergy between public investment and private investment. “Public investment can help to reduce the risk of private investment. Part of what we’ve shown through the report is that there are great returns on public investment. But we also think it is very important that these public investments are linked to transition plans for the agricultural sector that address food security, climate change, adaptation and climate change, and mitigation. We have seen some excellent examples of this emerging from the UN Food System Summit and turned into a financially viable project, as in the case of Rwanda.”
The World Bank has also committed to financing more than $2.5 billion in projects aligned with climate-smart agriculture, according to the report. The Global Methane Pledge launched methane-reducing investment platforms in the food system in late 2022 and coordinated more than $900 million in dedicated funds to be deployed in the agriculture and waste sectors over the next several years. This funding comes from national and multilateral organizations.
Avery Cohn explained that “as we begin to build coherence and understanding of the transition plans for economies in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond, this can help pave the way for public investment, which in turn can help reduce risk and unlock private investment. investment.”
