Abstract
Agriculture will play a central role in meeting greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets, as the sector currently contributes ∼22% of global emissions. Because emissions are directly tied to resources employed in farm production, such as land, fertilizer, and ruminant animals, the productivity of input use tends to be inversely related to emissions intensity. We review evidence on how productivity gains in agriculture have contributed to historical changes in emissions, how they affect land use emissions both locally and globally, and how investments in research and development (R&D) affect productivity and therefore emissions. The world average agricultural emissions intensity fell by more than half since 1990, with a strong correlation between a region's agricultural productivity growth and reduction in emissions intensity. Additional investment in agricultural R&D offers an opportunity for cost-effective (
Keywords
abatement cost, emissions intensity, land use change, R&D lag, total factor productivity, JEL Q5, JEL Q16
Date of this Version
10-1-2024
Recommended Citation
Fuglie, Keith O.; Hertel, Thomas W.; Lobell, David B.; and Villoria, Nelson B., "Agricultural Productivity and Climate Mitigation" (2024). Department of Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications. Paper 113.
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/agedocs/113
Included in
Economics Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Food Security Commons, Food Studies Commons
Comments
This is the publisher PDF of Keith O. Fuglie, Thomas W. Hertel, David B. Lobell, Nelson B. Villoria. 2024. Agricultural Productivity and Climate Mitigation. Annual Review of Resource Economics 16:21-40. Published CC-BY by Annual Reviews, the version of record and ADA Title II compliant version is also available in HTML at DOI: 10.1146/annurev-resource-101323-094349