Discussion forums

Farming First, CGIAR Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security  (CCAFS), Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA), WFO; US Department of Agriculture; Agriculture and Agri-food Canada and Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC)

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Agriculture and food systems contribute up to 29% of global emissions, including the indirect impact on deforestation. What are the priorities for agricultural mitigation investments that do not compromise global food security and climate change adaptation?

This session first pin-points the main focus areas for mitigation action and identifies some of the knowledge gaps. The role of taking a landscape approach in achieving mitigation targets is also addressed. The focus then shifts to a case study, related to livestock emissions, and in particular manure management, through policy development, capacity building and knowledge transfer. An international coalition that partners with national governments and leading international development institutions plans to leverage efforts to address short-lived climate pollutants, including methane.

The session ends by examining whether mitigation activities can be integrated with food security and climate change adaptation goals, and by asking the critical question of how this fits with a landscapes approach.

Key questions the Discussion Forum will address:

1. Where should we focus mitigation options in agriculture, given the need to not compromise food security goals
2. Is the landscape approach a valid entry point for achieving mitigation reductions in agriculture?
3. What are the expected costs, benefits and added-value?

Background reading:

1. Smith P, Haberl H, Popp A, Erb K-H, Lauk C, Harper R, Tubiello FN, de Siqueira Pinto A, Jafari M, Sohi S, et al. 2013. How much land-based greenhouse gas mitigation can be achieved without compromising food security and environmental goals? Global Change Biology 19: 2285–2302. doi: 10.1111/gcb.12160
2. Scholes, R. and Palm, C. Agriculture and Climate Change Mitigation in the Developing World (forthcoming, October)
3. California Environmental Associates (CEA)/Climate Focus. Mitigation options in agriculture (forthcoming)
4. CCAC Agriculture Initiative
5. CCAC Livestock Manure Management Component
6. CCAC Framework and Executive Summary

Speakers

• Theun Vellinga

  Senior scientist, Livestock Research, Wageningen University and Research Centre

• Charlotte Streck

  Director of Climate Focus and a former Senior Counsel with The World Bank, Washington, DC

Moderator

• Mark Manis

  Senior policy advisor for the Foreign Agricultural Service, Office of Negotiations and Agreements, U.S. Department of Agriculture