Food systems emission and climate change consequences

Abstract

Food systems are responsible for up to one-third of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These emissions include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) and are therefore a major driver of climate change. The environmental pressures on food systems are likely to intensify, as humanity is arguably already operating beyond planetary boundaries. The projection for changes between 2010 and 2050 shows that these pressures will result in an increase of between 80 and 92 percent in GHG emissions in the absence of technological change and other mitigation measures. Apart from being a significant source of GHG emissions, food systems are significantly impacted by climate change. Uneven climate change effects, in combination with differences in adaptation capacity, could exacerbate existing inequalities between High-Income (HI), Low-Income (LI) and Lower Middle-Income (LMI) countries.