air pollution & climate change – is climate smart …...adapting to climate change 20 feb...

Air Pollution & Climate Change – isclimate smart agriculture a useful

approach?

Professor Lisa Emberson

Adapting to Climate Change20 Feb 2019, European Parliament


EU air quality legislation…continually in development

1979 UNECE LRTAPConvention Seventh Environment Action

Programme (EAP) (2012 to 2020)

2013 Clean Air Policy Packagefor Europe (EC, 2013)


Mills et al. 2018

Production loss in Tg for wheat due to ozone

Globally: Wheat yield losses of 9.4% and economic losses of US$ 24 billion per year

EU air quality legislation…. but damage still occurring inEurope and Globally

EU 28 Region: Wheat yield losses of 14% and economic loss of US$ 3.4 billion per year


Ozone (O3)- crop biomass and yield- forage quality- soil carbon

Aerosol- plant biomass and yield through changes in radiation (Photosynthetically

Active Radiation - PAR)- plant biomass and yield through toxicity and blocking of stomates for gas

exchange

Regional climate change- crop biomass and yield- CO2 fertilization effect

A variety of air pollutants and GHGs will impactagriculture…in a variety of ways


….and agriculture results in the emissions of air pollutionand GHGs

Agriculture responsible for ~24% ofGHG emissions….

Tubiello et al. (2012)

Erisman et al. (2008)

…and is a substantial contributor toparticular types of air pollution issues


Black Carbon Interventions

Regional climatechange

…mitigation of these pollutants involves a number ofatmospheric pollutants, often co-emitted from various

sources

Ozone

BC OCOther

aerosol SO2 NOx CO CO2NMVOCs

Aerosol

N2O

CH4


How can we best address these issues with someform of policy coherence?

…having the right tools for the job

Emissions

Climate &Atmospheric Chemistry

Deposition& impacts

Policy response

CO2, CH4, O3, N2O, SO2, aerosols (BC,OC)

Climate changeAir pollution &

Crop yield loss

O3 ,aero

sols

&clim

ate

Key emissionsectors:-

TransportIndustry

Residential+

Agriculture Socio-economicimpacts

Mitigation/Adaptation


Energy demand

Energy

transformation

Energy import

/ export

Non-energy

Agriculture;

Processes;

Vegetation fires

POPULATION GDP

Emission

calculation

BC, OC

NOX, SO2

NH3,CO

NMVOC

other PM2.5

CH4, CO2

N20

(emission

factors x

activity)

Calculation of

impacts and

benefits

Human health(premature mortality)

Crop yield

Climate

calculations

(global warming)

Concentration –

Response

relationships

Gri

dd

ing

Calculation of

pollutant

concentrations

PM2.5

O3

Radiative

forcing

GEOS-Chem

Adjoint model

IIASA GAINS

ECLIPSE

emissions

IntegratedBenefitsCalculator



Mitigation options for air pollution through interventions inthe agricultural sector

Methane (CH4) Black Carbon (BC)

Improve manure management and animal feedquality

Ban open field burning of agricultural waste

Apply intermittent aeration of continuouslyflooded rice paddies

Improve animal health and husbandry bycombining herd and health managementnutrition and feeding management strategies

Introduce selective breeding to reduce emissionintensity and increase production

Promote farm scale anaerobic digestion tocontrol methane emissions from livestock

Adopt guidelines on healthy dietary choices

Agriculture responsible for ~40% of global BC and CH4 emissions

Mills et al. (2018)

Adaptation options to air pollution and their synergies and trade offswith other stresses



Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is an approach that helps to guide actionsneeded to transform and reorient agricultural systems to effectively supportdevelopment and ensure food security in a changing climate.

CSA aims to tackle three main objectives:

1. sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes

2. adapting and building resilience to climate change

3. and reducing and/or removing GHGs, where possible.


Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is an approach that helps to guide actionsneeded to transform and reorient agricultural systems to effectively supportdevelopment and ensure food security in a changing climate.

CSA aims to tackle three main objectives:

1. sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes

2. adapting and building resilience to climate change and air pollution

3. and reducing and/or removing GHGs and air pollution emissions, wherepossible.


Livelihoods

Biophysical impact on agriculture

Climate risk Contemporary rural livelihood context

Adaptation options

Improved production

Transformatione.g. No. of people involved in farming declining,

households experiencing rising education,abandonment of rural land, increasing wages,

burgeoning mechanisation, high levels of migrationinto global labour market

Impacts orientated approach Comprehensive understanding of change

‘what are the most significant changes takingplace in people’s lives?

‘what are the impacts of climate change and airpollution?’

‘what are the impacts of climate change?’

Ensor et al. 2019

Conclusions

EU air quality legislation has made good progress in tackling air pollution inEurope

….but still air pollution is causing damage to agriculture across Europe (andthe globe)

Air pollutants also act as radiative forcers (i.e. will influence climate change)

…and agriculture is a source of both air pollution and GHG emissions and willinfluence C sequestration

Could CSA provide a more coherent approach to air pollution and climatechange both in terms of emissions, impacts and livelihoods associated withagriculture?

Such an approach could optimise co-benefits and limits trade-offs for goalssuch as the SDGs


Thanks to our fundersSida, the EU, the Norwegian Research Council and SEI.


air pollution & climate change – is climate smart …...adapting to climate change 20 feb...

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