Manya Rathore
Research expert covering India
Agriculture emissions worldwide - statistics & facts
The agriculture sector is both highly susceptible to the impacts of climate change, and a big part of the problem. In 2023, agricultural processes like crop and livestock production were responsible for around 11 percent of global GHG emissions. The agriculture sector is also the largest anthropogenic source of methane, a highly potent gas with a global warming potential far greater than that of carbon dioxide. But while agriculture is a major contributor to the climate crisis, the sector is hard-to-abate, with many challenges to overcome if it is to reach net-zero.
While methane and nitrous oxide are the primary gases emitted within the farm-gate, CO鈧 is the main GHG produced from converting natural ecosystems into agricultural lands. Trees absorb and store CO鈧, but when forests are cleared for growing crops or creating pastures, they release much of this back into the atmosphere. In fact, some three GtCO鈧俥 are released every year from agricultural land use change worldwide.
Although these changes will require considerable investment, currently the agri-food industry receives only a small portion of global climate finance. It is estimated that the global agri-food system will need an average of 260 billion U.S. dollars in climate change mitigation financing per year by 2030 to put the world on a pathway to net-zero by mid-century.
With global food production expected to grow significantly in order to supply the needs of a growing global population, emissions from this sector could rise almost 50 percent by 2050 relative to 2020 levels unless urgent action is taken.
Where do agricultural emissions come from?
Around 50 percent of the agri-food industry鈥檚 emissions come from within the farm-gate from sources like rice cultivation, fertilizer use, and soils. However, the largest contributor within this segment is emissions from livestock activities. Livestock produce around four billion metric tons of CO鈧 equivalent every year, and in 2023 accounted for six percent of global GHG emissions, making them the world鈥檚 sixth-largest climate polluter. Emissions from livestock are primarily in the form of methane from enteric fermentation, a part of the digestive process in ruminant animals, such as cattle.While methane and nitrous oxide are the primary gases emitted within the farm-gate, CO鈧 is the main GHG produced from converting natural ecosystems into agricultural lands. Trees absorb and store CO鈧, but when forests are cleared for growing crops or creating pastures, they release much of this back into the atmosphere. In fact, some three GtCO鈧俥 are released every year from agricultural land use change worldwide.
Biggest emitters in the agriculture sector
The largest share of agriculture-related GHG emissions stem from Asia, where roughly four GtCO鈧俥 are produced every year on agricultural lands. Much of these emissions originate from China and India, the sector鈥檚 biggest polluters when considering farmgate emissions. However, when land use is also considered, Brazil ranks as the biggest agricultural emitter worldwide, with more than one GtCO鈧俥. This is due to significant deforestation in the Amazon driven by soybean farming and grazing lands for cattle. Brazil is also home to some of the world鈥檚 most polluting meat and dairy companies, such as JBS and Marfrig, whose methane emissions rival those of major oil and gas producers.Tackling agriculture emissions
Although agriculture-related emissions are regarded as 鈥渉ard-to-abate鈥, there are numerous ways in which the sector can address its contributions to climate change. Adopting low-cost sustainable farming practices, such as agroforestry, improved crop management, and enhanced pasture management through rotational grazing and fertilization, could result in over five billion tons of carbon sequestration per year by 2050. Other urgent and short-term ways to tackle the sector鈥檚 emissions include protecting and restoring nature, reducing food loss and waste, as well as diversifying protein supplies and shifting away from meat consumption, particularly beef, which alone accounts for around 34 percent of food system emissions.Although these changes will require considerable investment, currently the agri-food industry receives only a small portion of global climate finance. It is estimated that the global agri-food system will need an average of 260 billion U.S. dollars in climate change mitigation financing per year by 2030 to put the world on a pathway to net-zero by mid-century.
With global food production expected to grow significantly in order to supply the needs of a growing global population, emissions from this sector could rise almost 50 percent by 2050 relative to 2020 levels unless urgent action is taken.
