smoking chimneys

The key GHGs for agriculture that contribute directly to climate change are: 

  • Carbon dioxide (CO2) 
  • Methane (CH4) 
  • Nitrous oxide (N2O) 

 All these GHGs are often grouped under the umbrella term ‘carbon’. 

The contribution agriculture makes to global warming varies, dependant on how they are calculated (GWP calculation) and what they include (direct, indirect emissions) and none include the critical contribution of sequestration. According to the Government’s official statistics, using GWP100, agriculture in the UK accounts for 10% of the country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, equal to about 46.3 Mt of CO2 equivalent (2019). This does not take into consideration the carbon sequestered by farms in the soil, trees and hedges.

Source and further information: AHDB Greenhouse gas emissions: agriculture page

 

DEFRA Agri-climate report 2022

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