Thumbnail Image

Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems: building the evidence base

Copyright licence

Year of publication 2021

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 14 p.

Author Tubiello, F. N. et al

Publisher IOP Publishing Ltd ;

Product type Article

Category Journal article

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) New estimates of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the food system were developed at the country level, for the period 1990–2018, integrating data from crop and livestock production, on-farm energy use, land use and land use change, domestic food transport and food waste disposal. With these new country-level components in place, and by adding global and regional estimates of energy use in food supply chains, we estimate that total GHG emissions from the food system were about 16 CO2eq yr−1 in 2018, or one-third of the global anthropogenic total. Three quarters of these emissions, 13 Gt CO2eq yr−1, were generated either within the farm gate or in pre- and post-production activities, such as manufacturing, transport, processing, and waste disposal. The remainder was generated through land use change at the conversion boundaries of natural ecosystems to agricultural land. Results further indicate that pre- and post-production emissions were proportionally more important in developed than in developing countries, and that during 1990–2018, land use change emissions decreased while pre- and post-production emissions increased. We also report results on a per capita basis, showing world total food systems per capita emissions decreasing during 1990–2018 from 2.9 to 2.2 t CO2eq cap−1, with per capita emissions in developed countries about twice those in developing countries in 2018. Our findings also highlight that conventional IPCC categories, used by countries to report emissions in the National GHG inventory, systematically underestimate the contribution of the food system to total anthropogenic emissions. We provide a comparative mapping of food system categories and activities in order to better quantify food-related emissions in national reporting and identify mitigation opportunities across the entire food system.

This is an open access article published externally in Environmental Research LettersVolume 16, Number 6. Published 8 June 2021

Cite this content as:

Tubiello, Francesco N., et al. "Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems: building the evidence base." Environmental Research Letters 16.6 (2021): 065007. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac018e

Language English

Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Working paper
    Methods for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from food systems
    Part I: domestic food transport
    2021
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    This paper is the first in a series of ongoing and planned efforts to build on current knowledge and develop methodologies for estimating new components of food systems emissions, with a view to disseminate the information in FAOSTAT. It provides a methodology for estimating the GHG emissions associated with historic and current domestic food transport, in an effort to inform countries of the environmental impact of their food distribution systems. Our efforts help to better characterize food systems and the role they can play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In particular, they align well with Goal 12 to ensure “sustainable consumption and production patterns’’, specifically Target 12.2, “achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources” and Indicator 12.2.1, which monitors the “material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP” of different products.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Working paper
    Methods for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from food systems
    Part III: energy use in fertilizer manufacturing, food processing, packaging, retail and household consumption
    2021
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    This paper is part of a series detailing new methodologies for estimating key components of agri-food systems emissions, with a view to disseminate the information in FAOSTAT. It describes methods for estimating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuel-based energy use in agri-food systems processes outside agricultural land, i.e. those associated with pre- and post-production activities – in an effort to inform countries of the environmental impacts of agri-food systems and the possible options to reduce them.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Working paper
    Methods for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from food systems
    Part II: waste disposal
    2021
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    This paper is part of a series detailing novel methodologies for estimating key components of food systems emissions, with a view to disseminate the information in FAOSTAT. It provides a methodology for estimating the GHG emissions associated with emissions from waste in the food system (e.g., food-related processes in landfills, incineration, wastewater management processes), in an effort to inform countries of the environmental impacts and possible options to reduce them.
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    Corporate general interest
    Ultra-processed foods, diet quality and human health 2019
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    The significance of industrial processing for the nature of food and the state of human health - and in particular the techniques and ingredients developed by modern food science and technology - is generally underestimated. This is evident in both national and international policies and strategies designed to improve populations' nutrition and health. Until recently it has also been neglected in epidemiological and experimental studies concerning diet, nutrition and health. This report seeks to assess the impact of ultra-processed food on diet quality and health, based on NOVA, a food classification system developed by researchers at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Booklet
    Corporate general interest
    FAO’s Plant Production and Protection Division 2022
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    This booklet describes FAO's work and efforts in plant production and protection. The publication includes highlights on the importance of plant production and protection and its contribution to Sustainable Development Goals and FAO Strategic Framework 2022–31. The booklet will also include an overview of FAO's Plant Production and Protection Division (NSP) and provide details about FAO's work in six thematic areas: sustainable plant genetic resources management and seed systems; sustainable plant production; sustainable plant pest and disease management; sustainable pest and pesticide management; sustainable technology promotion and transformation; governance and normative work; and the role of communication and partnerships.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Yearbook
    World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2022 2022
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    This publication offers a synthesis of the major factors at play in the global food and agricultural landscape. Statistics are presented in four thematic chapters, covering the economic importance of agricultural activities, inputs, outputs and factors of production, their implications for food security and nutrition and their impacts on the environment. The Yearbook is meant to constitute a primary tool for policymakers, researchers and analysts, as well as the general public interested in the past, present and future path of food and agriculture.
Show more