Researchers Call Out U.S. For Neglecting Emissions From Agriculture In Climate Plan

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CREDIT: AP Photo/Don Ryan

The United States and European Union aren’t doing enough to address emissions from land use — such as agriculture — in their carbon reduction plans for the upcoming climate talks in Paris, France, according to a new report.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) analyzed the “intended nationally determined contributions” (INDCs) of the U.S., Mexico, and the E.U. in a report released Tuesday. These INDCs are proposed plans to tackle climate change that each country must submit ahead of the Paris climate talks, a conference with the goal of reaching a binding international agreement on climate change.

The UCS researchers found that, in the plans of the E.U. and U.S., there is “practically no mention of specific actions that they plan to take in the land sector.”

“It is disappointing to see the U.S. neglect to address emissions from agriculture and forestry — especially when the potential for reductions is so considerable,” Doug Boucher, director of UCS’s Tropical Forest and Climate Initiative, said in a statement.

Mexico, on the other hand, “goes into considerable detail, putting forth plans to reduce deforestation to zero by 2030, restore forests and other biomes, increase carbon capture, and give greater protection to coastal ecosystems.” Mexico is more transparent about how it will achieve these goals than the U.S. and E.U. are, the report states, laying out specific actions that it wants to take in order to reduce its land sector emissions.

This transparency, “particularly compared with the developed countries, virtually sets a standard,” according to the report.

In Mexico, deforestation has decreased by 55 percent over the last decade. But it’s still a problem in the country. Deforestation is a major contributor to climate change, emitting more than 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year, so tackling deforestation will help Mexico achieve its climate and conservation goals.

But the U.S. and E.U. could also do a lot to reduce their emissions from the land sector. In fact, according to another UCS report from this year, the U.S. has the largest potential for reductions in emissions from land use out of eight of the world’s biggest carbon emitters. That potential, according to the report, includes things that suppliers and governments can do, such as reducing nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizer and cutting deforestation and depletion of agricultural soil. It also includes things that consumers in the U.S. can do, such as eating less beef and wasting less food.

Agriculture accounts for 9 percent of the U.S.’s carbon emissions, and soil management and livestock production are two of the top contributors to those agriculture-related emissions. Cows release methane through their digestive process, and their manure also releases methane and carbon dioxide as it decomposes. And certain practices, like no-till farming, can help soil retain carbon.

“The main problem with the U.S. INDC…is that it that it fails to specify any mitigation action in the land sector,” the report states. “The United States does have great potential, from options such as reducing consumption of high-emissions foods — e.g., beef — decreasing over-fertilization of crops, and increasing reforestation. But its INDC does not indicate any plans to make that potential a reality.”

The UCS report was released during climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany, which are going on this week. There, negotiators from around the world are working on developing a draft version of the climate change agreement that will be discussed and hopefully agreed upon in Paris this November and early December.

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