New report provides a detailed, comprehensive view of agricultural emissions

The NFU has released the first comprehensive picture of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Canadian agriculture and the production of associated farm inputs.

Until now, most analyses omitted key GHG sources, lacked adequate detail, spread numbers across several publications and sites, or all three. The NFU has produced a single, accessible report for farmers and policymakers who want to understand the sources of agricultural emissions.

The graph pictured is featured in the report. The full report is available from the NFU website here: https:// www.nfu.ca/publications/a-new-comprehensive-assessment-ghg-emissions-canada-2022/

Darrin Qualman, NFU Director of Climate Crisis Policy and Action, explained the need for the report: “A clear, detailed, comprehensive picture of emissions is needed to form a foundation for on-farm actions to reduce emissions and for government programs to incentivize and accelerate those actions. Until now, a comprehensive picture was lacking. This report helps to fill that gap.”

He noted that assembling all the data in one place reveals several things about agricultural GHG emissions, including:

1. Emissions from Canadian agriculture and the production of associated farm inputs are rising;

2. The increase is driven by rising rates of nitrogen fertilizer production and use;

3. Cattle and their manure are currently the largest source of emissions, though GHGs from cattle are falling as animal numbers fall;

4. There are complexities to be considered when assessing cattle-related emissions, e.g., large ruminant herbivores have grazed North American grasslands for millions of years; and

5. Emissions from fossil fuel use—both on the farm and in the production of farm inputs such as machinery and fertilizers—may make up nearly onethird of total agricultural-related GHGs, so decarbonization and clean renewable energy sources are key.

The NFU is working with more than 20 allied organizations in the Farmers for Climate Solutions (FCS) coalition to turn knowledge of emissions sources into effective on-farm solutions and supportive government policies.

In addition to today’s technical report on emission sources, the NFU and FCS have outlined emissionreduction solutions in several reports, including:

• Tackling the Farm Crisis and the Climate Crisis: A Transformative Strategy for Canadian Farms and Food Systems, 2019, https://www.nfu.ca/wp-content/ uploads/2020/01/Tackling-the-Farm-Crisis-and-theClimate-Crisis-NFU-2019.pdf

• Imagine If.... A Vision of a Near-Zero-Emission Farm and Food System for Canada, 2021, https:// www.nfu.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Imagineif-NFU-2021-EN-FINAL.pdf

• A Down Payment for a Resilient and Low

GHG Farm Future: Budget 2021 Recommendations, 2021, https://static1.squarespace.com/ static/5dc5869672cac01e07a8d14d/t/603cf540ca355d0 ac5009619/1614607684484/FCS_BudgetRecommendation2021.pdf