A new report identifies the top 25 measures to reduce on-farm emissions, finding savings in plant breeding, animal feed and farm machinery.
Agriculture contributes up to 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions and limiting climate change to 1.5ºC is the target set out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Mitigating CO2 emissions is a task which varies in difficulty between sectors. In the energy sector, new technology such as solar or wind power can entirely replace previous means of generating power. In food production, such technologies are not yet available, scaleable or geopolitically appropriate.
Using McKinsey’s Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC), measures are identified and pegged to the cost associated with implementing them.
Top of the table is the adoption of zero-emissions on farm machinery, which are estimated to save $229 per tonne of CO2 per year.
Adoption of the top 15 measures would meet 85% of their abatement target, meaning the report provides some very practical pathways towards mitigating climate change in the food sector.
Download the full report at McKinsey.
