People may be able to reach net negative emissions by 2050 if significant improvements are made to the world food system, in addition to greenhouse gas emissions reductions. These results are reported in a new study that was released on September 6 in the open-access journal PLOS Climate by a team led by Maya Almaraz of Princeton University and Benjamin Houlton of Cornell University.
Currently, nearly one-third of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the world food system. There are many chances to cut emissions within the food system, and some have suggested that agriculture may serve as a sink to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and achieve net negative emissions.
In the new study, researchers used a global food system model to explore how consumer choices, climate-smart technologies, and reductions in food waste would each contribute to achieving net negative emissions by 2050. They estimate that, in a world of 10 billion people, a complete food system transformation could remove the equivalent of up to 33 gigatons of carbon dioxide each year. The greatest benefits would come from a shift toward a plant-based diet and the use of new technologies such as greener fertilizer production, advanced livestock feeds, agroforestry and sustainable seafood harvesting.
The study’s findings highlight the potential for future food systems to help countries meet their climate change emissions targets. This makes agriculture a unique economic sector that should be a key focus when discussing climate charge mitigation. For best effect, the researchers recommend that these approaches should be tailored to fit the local culture, economics, technology readiness and agricultural management capacities of each region.
The authors add: “We find evidence that dietary shifts cannot achieve negative emissions alone, whereas technology deployment and management can, absent dietary changes.”
