Harmonizing food systems emissions accounting for more effective climate action

Abstract Food systems—encompassing activities in food production, land-use change, supply chains and waste management—contribute significantly to climate change. Recent estimates indicate that food systems produce over 30% of annual anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (about 20% of CO 2 , 50% of CH 4 , and 75% of N 2 O), with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimating a notably broad range of 23%–42% of global GHG emissions. This paper synthesizes current research on the contributions of food systems to climate change, highlights challenges in quantifying their impact and proposes a harmonized accounting framework for more effective climate action. We recommend that an expert committee aligned with the IPCC develop guidance for food systems emissions accounting in four key areas, including: (1) defining system boundaries and nomenclature; (2) developing protocols to allocate broader sectoral emissions to food systems; (3) prioritizing critical areas for research into activity data and emissions factors; and (4) developing a balanced framework for evaluating the impact of mitigation interventions in light of other food systems imperatives. The committee should be integrated into two key international policy processes—the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Food Systems Summit—to support coordinated action towards global net-zero goals. Guidance from the committee could significantly improve the ability of governments, companies, and researchers to estimate, report, monitor and ultimately reduce the climate impacts of food systems.

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Publication Details

Journal
Environmental Research Food Systems
Published
2024-11-07
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1088/2976-601x/ad8fb3
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Climate Change Policy and Economics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.26

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article

Harmonizing food systems emissions accounting for more effective climate action

David Sandalow, Alessandro Flammini, Roberta Quadrelli, Erik Mencos Contreras et al.
2 citations
Environmental Research Food Systems
Climate Change Policy and Economics
2.26
article

Harmonizing food systems emissions accounting for more effective climate action

David Sandalow, Alessandro Flammini, Roberta Quadrelli, Erik Mencos Contreras, Shelby C. McClelland, Tek B. Sapkota, Sarah Garland, Matthew Hayek, Philippe Benoit, Francesco Nicola Tubiello, Kevin Karl, Joseph Poore, Monica Crippa, Marc Corbeels, Minpeng Chen, Adrian Leip, Cynthia Rosenzweig
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Abstract Food systems—encompassing activities in food production, land-use change, supply chains and waste management—contribute significantly to climate change. Recent estimates indicate that food systems produce over 30% of annual anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (about 20% of CO 2 , 50% of CH 4 , and 75% of N 2 O), with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimating a notably broad range of 23%–42% of global GHG emissions. This paper synthesizes current research on the contributions of food systems to climate change, highlights challenges in quantifying their impact and proposes a harmonized accounting framework for more effective climate action. We recommend that an expert committee aligned with the IPCC develop guidance for food systems emissions accounting in four key areas, including: (1) defining system boundaries and nomenclature; (2) developing protocols to allocate broader sectoral emissions to food systems; (3) prioritizing critical areas for research into activity data and emissions factors; and (4) developing a balanced framework for evaluating the impact of mitigation interventions in light of other food systems imperatives. The committee should be integrated into two key international policy processes—the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Food Systems Summit—to support coordinated action towards global net-zero goals. Guidance from the committee could significantly improve the ability of governments, companies, and researchers to estimate, report, monitor and ultimately reduce the climate impacts of food systems.

Environmental Research Food SystemsVol. 2(1)
Goddard Institute for Space Studies (US), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (IT), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (AT), Agence internationale de l'énergie (FR), Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz Y Trigo (MX), European Commission (BE), Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (BE), University of Oxford (GB), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (KE), Joint Research Centre (IT), Global Services (Slovakia) (SK), Double Helix (United States) (US), New York University (US), Columbia University (US), Renmin University of China (CN)
Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Climate Change Policy and Economics
2.26
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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