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09 October 2009
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Cool Farming: Climate impacts of agriculture and mitigation potential, is the first report to detail both the direct and indirect effects farming has on climate change. Cool Farming is written for Greenpeace by Professor Pete Smith from University of Aberdeen, a lead author on the latest International Panel on Climate Change report.
"The impact of industrial farming on climate change has reached a critical threshold," said Josh Brandon, Greenpeace Agriculture Campaigner. "We can only go on so long sucking the life out the soil and releasing waste into the air, oceans and rivers before we permanently degrade the capacity of these ecosystems to sustain us."
The report describes how energy- and chemical-intensive farming has led to increased levels of greenhouse gas emissions, primarily as a result of the overuse of fertilisers, land clearance, soil degradation, and intensive animal farming. The total global contribution of agriculture to climate change, including deforestation for farmland and other land use changes, is estimated to be equivalent to between 8.5 -16.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide or between 17- 32% of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions.
Fertilizer overuse is responsible for the highest single share of agriculture's greenhouse gas emissions, currently equal to some 2.1 billion tonnes of CO2 annually. Excess fertilizer results in the emission of nitrous oxide (N2O), which is some 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide in changing the climate.
The report details a variety of practical solutions which can reduce climate change and that are easy to implement, including reducing overuse of fertilisers, protecting the soil, improving rice production and cutting demand for meat, especially in developed countries.
"Every year, agriculture is responsible ten per cent of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions" said Josh Brandon. "If Prime Minister Stephen Harper is sincere in combating climate change, an essential first step is a tax on fertilizers. This must be followed by tougher regulations on pesticides and a lot more money to promote local and organic agriculture in Canada."
