Achieving Emissions Reductions Crop Protection Products Role in Creating a Sustainable Agriculture Insert then choose Picture select your picture. Right click your picture and Send to back. The world s leading sustainability consultancy The world s leading sustainability consultancy
The threat from climate change Source: World Economic Forum, Global Risks 2012
What will happen to agricultural greenhouse gas emissions as we address the increasing global demand for crops?
Feeding the World According to the United Nations, by 2050 the world s population is expected to reach 8.9 billion 1 food production must increase by 70% to meet this growing demand 2 And adapt to climate change itself In 2005, agriculture accounted for 10%- 12% of total global anthropogenic GHG emissions 3 1 United Nations (2004), Department of Economic and Social Affairs/ Population Division, World Population to 2300 2 United Nation Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) 3 Smith P, et al (2007) Agriculture. Climate Change 2007: Mitigation Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
What is Life Cycle Assessment & Carbon Footprinting? LCA is a technique for assessing the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product or service by compiling an inventory of inputs and outputs; evaluating the potential environmental impacts; and interpreting the results of the inventory analysis (ISO 14040, 2006) A product carbon footprint is a streamlined version of an LCA focuses on greenhouse gases only, reported as a single figure, carbon dioxide equivalents (CO 2 ) INPUTS eg energy, water raw materials eg seeds, fertilisers, crop protection growing of crop harvesting Production food products/ biofuels Use & Disposal EMISSIONS eg N 2 O from soil, CH 4 from manure cradle to gate cradle to grave
What activities contribute the most to the total greenhouse gas emissions associated with crop production?
GHG Emissions Associated with Maize Growing 61% 31% 6% 1% Crop protection products Fertiliser production Fertiliser application Energy and fuels Other inputs Figure does not include for land use change 1% Key contributor to GHG emissions of maize growing is the production of and N 2 O emissions associated with the application of fertilisers Higher yields are achieved through nutrient application, ie a balance to be created between yield and GHG emissions Crop protection does not contribute significantly, accounting for 1% of the total
Carbon Footprint of the Cultivation of Cotton 34% 18% 44% 4% Crop protection products Fertiliser production Fertiliser application 1% Energy and fuels Other inputs Key contributors to the GHG emissions associated with cotton production are energy and fertilizer production and application Again, a direct link between yield and GHG emissions Crop protection does not contribute significantly, accounting for 4% of the total
Industry Life Cycle Thinking Initiatives Building a better understanding of the climate change impacts of and benefits with crop protection products in the context of agricultural production Collaborate to calculate the average GHG emissions associated with CPP in order to meet demand for information and support further understanding of the GHG impacts of agriculture The average GHG emissions associated with the production of CPP is calculated to be 5.5 kg CO 2 e per litre of finished product This is based on a collaborative project between CropLife and the main producers and builds on company own information covering the cradle-togate aspects of CPP production
Monitoring progress towards meeting needs Striking the right balance - between increasing yield and GHG emissions And understanding how to achieve this understanding the climate change impacts per tonne crop produced Including monitoring progress how key factors interlink to achieve improved yield at a level that provides the best insight irrigation model farms / pilots? natural level? regional level? all of the above crop protection nutrients temperature IMPROVED YIELD harvesting techniques farming practices seeds farm machinery
Final Remarks With growing populations and limited global land available for crop growing, yield gain is the focus area Crop protection products play a key part in this and in adapting to climate change, their role may become even more important Focus for the crop protection sector is to avoid crop loss at minimal GHG emissions which means lower GHG emissions per quantity of crop produced not necessarily per quantity of CPP
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