AgLED is intended to be a guide to climate change mitigation in agriculture and food systems for those new and old in the field of low-emissions development (LED). The focus is on agricultural emissions and their mitigation, but we provide examples and resources of emissions and mitigation options related to activities connected with agriculture. One of the biggest opportunities and challenges is in developing countries, where food security has yet to be met while also seeking to reduce emissions. Therefore, this site emphasizes developing country data and examples.
The site has a curated glossary and FAQ, as well as frequently used technical information as basic references throughout the LED Options, Estimating Emissions and Policy & Planning sections. The Estimating Emission and Policy pages have information relating to the UNFCCC and MRV process.
This working paper explores a generic method that can be used to benchmark nitrogen (N) input requirements for crop production and the efficiency by which inputs are used. Two types of N benchmarks are introduced: one for short-term and another for long-term assessments. We explain the underlying assumptions, data requirements and types of applications. Both benchmarking methods are especially suitable for regional, national or global analyses. The proposed methodology is illustrated for cereal production (maize, wheat, rice, millet and sorghum) in ten countries in sub-Saharan Africa, under current and optimal nutrient management, for today and towards 2050.
Hijbeek R, van Loon M, van Ittersum M, ten Berge H
2020
CCAFS
This policy brief covers research by the CGIAR Research Programs on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and Livestock to strengthen reporting of land-based livestock practices at the regional level. The work aimed to consolidate existing regional climate strategies and policies and create new ones. The brief lays out implications and recommendations for accounting for silvopastoral systems in national GHG inventories.
Versión en español disponible aquí
Suber M , Arango J, Torres C F, Rosenstock T
2020
World Agroforestry
This map layer was developed using EDGAR’s data (5-min resolution) 2015 global agriculture CH4 and N2O emissions data layers (5-min resolution), which were combined using the global warming potential values of the 5th IPCC Assessment Report (CH4 = 28 and N2O = 265).
Download the methods (pdf)
Download the emissions map layer data (tiff)
Download the 2015-Ag emissions map (ppt)
Ciniro Costa Jr.
2021
CCAFS
This website houses resources, recordings, and presentations of the 2020 webinar and hackathon “Enhancing investment in soil health and carbon storage: Frontiers for linking finance and carbon accounting.”
The webinar supported investment-oriented actions promoting soil health and carbon storage by improving the accounting of soil carbon sequestration. Panelists sought to understand how improving soil carbon accounting can support investment-oriented actions that promote soil health and carbon storage. Participants examined opportunities for action using novel methods and frontier technologies that enable linking technical practices with finance and policy for accurate and cost-efficient SOC accounting.
A brief was published as a result of the hackathon that delved into the key insights gleaned from the webinar and two hackathon sessions. Learn more here.
CCAFS, The Nature Conservancy, 4 per 1000 Executive Secretariat, and The World Bank
2020
This CCAFS Info Note summarizes the major conclusions and key insights of the 2020 webinar and hackathon “Enhancing investment in soil health and carbon storage.” Key messages from the Info Note include:
- The financial community needs a standardized, low-cost, fit-for-purpose approach to soil organic carbon (SOC) accounting that encourages investment and is adaptable.
- An accounting system should provide “value for money,” align with global goals and support co-benefits, while safeguarding reputational risks.
- Building a sequenced approach to improve accounting accuracy requires planning to reduce uncertainties of the accounting systems over time.
- Developing low-cost SOC accounting requires i) focusing on a few high-quality direct measurements, ii) reducing the uncertainty of models, and iii) enhancing capability to easily incorporate farm-level activity data.
- Moving to hybrid measurement approaches seems to be the most cost-effective pathway to achieve low-cost SOC accounting systems.
For more information on the event, check out the event resource website here.
Costa C Jr., Dittmer K, Shelton S, Bossio D, Zinyengere N, Luu P, Heinz S, Egenolf K, Rowland B, Zuluaga A, Klemme J, Mealey T, Smith M, Wollenberg E
2020
This dataset is the result of an analysis of the mitigation contributions of the 177 NDCs submitted as of February 5, 2019. It is is a limited updated to the INDC database published previously. A full update is forthcoming for 2021. Data were collected directly from NDC submissions, which can be found here.
Meryl Richards
2019
CCAFS
This study presents a meta-analysis of CH4 database emission factors (EFs) from 36 field sites across Vietnam. The analysis for calculating baseline EFs follows Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Tier 2 methodology.
The analysis suggests that season-based EFs are more useful than zone-based EFs. These average EFs indicate an enormous variability of GHG emissions in Vietnamese rice production and represent much higher values than the IPCC default. Seasonal EFs from Vietnam exceeded IPCC defaults given for Southeast Asia.
This study compiled a comprehensive database of methane emissions from lowland rice production in Vietnam. The authors found a significant variation of rice emissions across seasons and landscapes. Therefore, it is advantageous for EFs to be determined for cropping seasons and systems separately instead of one annual EF for the whole country.
The variation in Vietnam’s climate and soil conditions means that GHG measurements could be taken across regions and seasons to establish a more representative database. More emission data are needed to calculate baseline emissions and quantify mitigation potentials of different management practices across regions and seasons. These emission factors will be used in Vietnam’s nationally determined contributions to the Paris agreement in their second update.
Vo TBT, Wassmann R, Mai VT, et al. 2020. Methane Emission Factors from Vietnamese Rice Production: Pooling Data of 36 Field Sites for Meta-Analysis. Climate
Evidence for Resilient Agriculture (ERA) platform provides access to data and tools designed to target which agricultural technologies work where. ERA is a dynamic dataset and web portal that is periodically updated with new data. Users can explore the database papers or use the en-suite analysis tool.
World Agroforestry (ICRAF), CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment (CCAFS), Partnerships for Scaling Climate-Smart Agriculture (P4S-CSA)
The GSOC MRV Protocol is a protocol for measurement, monitoring, reporting and verification of soil organic carbon in agricultural landscapes. An outcome of the successful Global Symposium on Soil Organic Carbon (GSOC17), its objective is to provide a framework and standard methodologies for the monitoring, reporting and verification of changes in SOC stocks and GHG emissions/removals from agricultural projects that adopt Sustainable Soil Management practices (SSM) at farm level. It outlines six stages: conditions for determining protocol applicability, delineating boundaries, delineating the baseline (business as usual) and intervention scenarios, preliminary assessment of soil organic carbon and greenhouse gas emissions, monitoring, and reporting and verification.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Rome, 2020
