Facts and Solutions
The AFOLU sector (Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use) is responsible for about 13–22% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. This range results from different calculation methods and includes both direct agriculture and land use changes such as deforestation and peatland drainage.
What is included in the AFOLU sector?
Direct agriculture:
– Livestock: Methane emissions from digestion and manure
– Crop production and soil management: CO₂ emissions from plowing and soil disturbance
– Fertilizers: Nitrous oxide (N₂O) from mineral and organic fertilization
– Rice cultivation: Methane emissions from flooded fields
Land use and land use change (LULUCF):
– Deforestation and forest conversion
– Peatland drainage
– Land conversion for arable farming
– Forestry
Breakdown of emissions
By greenhouse gas:
CO₂: 68.5% of AFOLU emissions (mainly from deforestation and soil management)
Methane (CH₄): About 14.5% from livestock and 7% from rice cultivation
Nitrous oxide (N₂O): 17% mainly from fertilizers
Major sources of emissions:
Deforestation: 45% of all AFOLU gross emissions
Livestock: 31% of direct agricultural emissions
Crop production: 27% of direct agricultural emissions
Plowing and soil management – facts instead of exaggerations
Plowing releases CO₂ from soils, but emissions are not as high as some headlines suggest. Scientifically, about 3 tons of CO₂ are released per hectare per plowing.
Globally, 867 million hectares are intensively plowed (about 54% of the world’s arable land).
Global CO₂ emissions from plowing: about 2.6 billion tons of CO₂ per year—about 6% of global CO₂ emissions.
The rest of the arable land is used differently:
No-till and reduced tillage: In many countries, plowing is already avoided or reduced. In South America, no-till is widespread (e.g., Argentina 80%, Paraguay 90%, Uruguay 82%, Brazil 50%), in the USA, about 78% of farmers use reduced or no tillage and in Europe, the share is about 25%.
Permanent crops: 12% of the world’s arable land is used for permanent crops such as fruit, wine, olives, or coffee. These areas are not plowed.
Rice cultivation: 10% of the world’s arable land is rice fields, which are flooded and therefore not plowed.
Fallow and temporary pasture: Some areas lie fallow or are used as pasture and are not part of intensive soil management.
Peatlands – the underestimated CO₂ bomb
Peatlands store more than 500 gigatons of carbon—twice as much as all the world’s forests combined. When drained, they become CO₂ sources:
Drained peatlands worldwide: 2 billion tons of CO₂ equivalents per year
Share of global emissions: 4%
Annual destruction: 500,000 hectares of intact peatlands
Dramatic soil loss and degradation
52% of all soils worldwide are already degraded
By 2050, 90% of all soils could be degraded
Annual soil loss: 12.34 tons per hectare per year
Carbon loss: 218 kg of carbon per hectare per year
Restoration – the global potential
115 countries have pledged to restore one billion hectares of degraded land by 2030.
Restoration potential:
CO₂ sequestration: 3–8 billion tons of CO₂ per year possible
Economic benefit: Up to $1.8 trillion annually
Forest loss 2024 – facts instead of exaggerations
Global forest loss: 30 million hectares (new record)
CO₂ release from forest loss: 3.1 billion tons of CO₂
Tropical rainforests: 6.7 million hectares of primary forest destroyed
For comparison:
To offset the annual CO₂ sequestration lost from the 30 million hectares of primary forest, 2.45 billion hectares of young forest would need to be planted—equivalent to 17% of the Earth’s total land area. This shows: protecting primary forests is irreplaceable.
Situation in other countries and regions
South America: High no-till adoption, but also large-scale deforestation for soy and cattle.
Europe: Many soils are threatened by intensive agriculture. 23–44% of EU and UK arable land is at risk of losing organic carbon.
Africa, Asia, North America: Large differences in land use, but everywhere there is a trend towards more sustainable methods.
Germany: Agriculture causes 53–54 million tons of CO₂ equivalents per year, mainly from livestock and fertilizers.
EU: Agriculture contributes about 10.8% to greenhouse gas emissions; LULUCF can even act as a sink.
Solutions and outlook
No-till and reduced tillage: Significantly reduce CO₂ emissions from soil.
Peatland restoration: Stops the emission of 2 billion tons of CO₂ per year.
Protection of existing primary forests: Prevents another 3.1 billion tons of CO₂ emissions.
Restoration of degraded land: 3–8 billion tons of CO₂ per year sequestration potential.
Agriculture as a solution: Sustainable practices can sequester as much CO₂ by 2050 as planting new forests.
Conclusion
Agriculture and land use are a central factor in climate change, accounting for 13–22% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Plowing contributes about 2.6 billion tons of CO₂ per year, but not all arable land is intensively managed. Many countries are already adopting sustainable methods such as no-till, peatland restoration, and forest protection.
Only by globally adopting sustainable agriculture and protecting natural CO₂ sinks can we effectively combat climate change.
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Author: Francesco del Orbe
