New FAO analysis reveals carbon footprint of agri-food supply chain

The Food and Agriculture Organization in its analysis (FAO) maintains that The food supply chain in many countries is poised to overtake agriculture and land use as the largest contributors to greenhouse gases. (GHG) from the agri-food system.

In addition, unrelated agricultural activities and land-use changes currently account for more than half of the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced from agri-food systems in some regions, while in developing countries this has more than doubled over the past three decades. has gone.

critical trend

“The most important trend … since the 1990s, as highlighted by our analysis, is the increasingly important role of food-related emissions generated outside agricultural land, in pre- and post-production processes along food supply chains, all scales”, which means global, regional and national levels, said FAO’s chief economist, Maximo Torrero.

“This has important consequences for food-relevant national mitigation strategies, given that until recently these have focused primarily on non-CO2 reduction within farm gates and CO2 from land use change”.

Promoting ‘meaningful awareness’

Using a comprehensive data set, the new analysis allows farmers and government planners to understand the relationship between their proposed actions Paris Agreement on climate change, and for consumers to better understand the growing carbon footprint in global supply chains.

Annually updated details on all parts of agri-food systems in all countries and territories between 1990 and 2019, can be easily accessed through FAOSTAT Portal.

“FAO is pleased to offer this global public good, a data set that directly and in detail addresses the greatest challenge of our time and which is now available to all”, Mr. Torrero said. “Such knowledge can inspire meaningful awareness and action”.

New data finds that 31 percent of human-caused GHG emissions originate from the world’s agri-food systems.

Meanwhile, a analytical brief Emphasizes how supply-chain factors are increasing overall agri-food system GHG emissions and playing an increasingly more important role in food-related discharges away from agricultural land.

The information has important consequences for national strategies to reduce emissions.

tracking numbers

According to the new analysis, of the 16.5 billion tonnes of GHG emissions from global agri-food systems in 2019, 7.2 billion tonnes came from within farm gates, 3.5 from land use change and 5.8 billion from supply-chain processes.

In 2019, deforestation was the largest source of GHG emissions, followed by livestock manure, household consumption, food waste disposal, fossil fuels used in farms, and food retail.

Researchers from the United Nations Statistics Division, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Columbia University and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Studies collaborated with the FAO in the analysis.