Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) account for 20-24 per cent of total global CO2e emissions, of which crop and livestock agriculture are the dominant source. It is expected that by 2050 these emissions will increase by 40-50 per cent, under a business-as-usual scenario. In addition, the sector is a high energy consumer, since land preparation, planting, irrigation, and harvesting require significant amounts of electrical and mechanical energy.
The current management of the food supply chain in agriculture is contributing to the emission of greenhouse gases. This chain includes the production, storage, processing, packaging, transportation, preparation, and final consumption of the different products since it requires large amounts of energy, fuel, and extraction of raw materials.
On the other hand, an increase in global temperature can have direct and indirect impacts on agricultural productivity, since changes in rainfall patterns, droughts, floods, and the geographic redistribution of pests and diseases can affect food production. This makes agriculture both a victim and a contributor to climate change.
Water
The water sector is the single largest source of energy demand globally, used to power pumping and irrigation systems that often operate 24/7. Further, agriculture accounts for 70 per cent of the world's water withdrawals, with agricultural activities such as irrigation, pesticides and fertilizer applications, crop cooling, and frost control accounting for an even larger proportion of "consumptive water use" due to evapotranspiration from crops.
Water scarcity is becoming a more frequent concern, Central and Southern Asia and Northern Africa registered very high-water stress of over 70 per cent, followed by Western Asia and Eastern Asia with high water stress of 54 and 46 per cent. Water stress occurs when the demand for freshwater is higher than the amount available.
The NDC Action project is supporting countries to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change in the context of agriculture and water through solar- powered irrigation systems (SPIS) and treated wastewater for irrigation. These technologies are considered from the perspective of potential adaptation interventions with mitigation co-benefits.
