Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use Emissions by Sources and Removals by Sinks

Abstract

This report discusses new knowledge on anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) activities made available through the new FAOSTAT Emission database. The database is available globally, with country detail, for all agriculture, forestry and land sub-categories available in FAOSTAT and in the Forest Resources Assessment (FRA). GHG emissions are computed from official national activity data and geospatial analyses, applying international standard methodologies of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to ensure consistency with GHG Inventory processes established under the climate convention. The analysis shows increases in emissions of agriculture (from 4.6 to 5.0 Gt CO2 eq yr -1 in 1990s and 2000s; 5.3 Gt CO2 eq yr -1 in 2011), decreases in deforestation rates (from 4.6 to 3.8 Gt CO2 eq yr -1 in 1990s and 2000s; 3.7 Gt CO2 eq yr -1 in 2010), and decreases in forest sinks, albeit with a reversal since the mid-2000s (from -2.9 to -1.9 Gt CO2 eq yr -1 in 1990s and 2000s values; -2.1 Gt CO2 eq yr -1 in 2010). At the same time, the data show that GHG intensity of products (i.e., GHG emissions per unit commodity produced) decreased during 1990-2010, but that if no further mitigation measures and technical efficiency improvements are implemented, future emissions may further increase by up to 30% by 2050. Better information on AFOLU emissions is critical in many developing countries, given the potential to identify and fund actions that can usefully bridge national food security, resilience, mitigation and development goals into one coherent package.