Greenhouse gas emissions from agrifood systems. Global, regional and country trends, 2000–2022

Agrifood systems account for about one-third of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. They are generated within the farm gate, from crop and livestock production activities; by land-use change, caused by deforestation, biomass fires and peatland degradation processes often linked to land clearance for agriculture; and in pre- and post-production processes, comprising the supply chain including food manufacturing, retail, household consumption and food disposal.

Statistics on the underlying activity data, emissions and indicators (shares of total economy, per capita emissions and emissions intensities) are disseminated in FAOSTAT at the country, regional and global levels, covering over 200 countries and territories, for the period 1961–2022), together with a comprehensive summary of emissions from the rest of the economy.

According to the latest data available, global agrifood systems emissions reached 16.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Gt CO2eq) in 2022, virtually unchanged from 2021, and representing an increase of 10 percent since 2000.

Main findings:

• In 2022, global agrifood systems emissions were 16.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Gt CO2eq), virtually unchanged from 2021, representing an increase of 10 percent since 2000. Estimated at 29.7 percent compared with 38 percent in 2000, their contribution to total emissions was below 30 percent for the first time on record.
• Of the agrifood systems total, crop and livestock activities within the farm gate contributed 7.8 Gt CO2eq globally, or 48 percent. They were virtually unchanged from 2021, with a 15 percent growth since 2000.
• Emissions from land-use change were 3.1 Gt CO2eq globally, or 19 percent of the total. They decreased by 1 percent since 2021 and by 30 percent since 2000.
• Emissions from pre- and post-production, due to activities along the supply chain, were 5.3 Gt CO2eq, or 33 percent of the total. They grew 52 percent since 2000.
• Regional emissions changed little in 2022 compared to 2021, except for Oceania, where they grew 2.7 percent. Compared to 2000 however, they grew strongly in Africa (40 percent) and Asia (25 percent), while decreasing in Oceania (−29 percent), the Americas (−9 percent) and Europe (−6 percent).
• In 2022, the agrifood systems emissions intensity was 2.6 kg CO2eq per international dollar (I$) globally. It decreased continuously over time, by 0.4 percent compared to 2021 and by 39 percent since 2000.
• The emissions intensity was above the world average in Africa (6.0 kg CO2eq/I$), the Americas and Oceania (3.4 kg CO2eq/I$), and lower in Asia and Europe (1.8–2.0 kg CO2eq/I$). The decline was observed in all regions compared to 2000, ranging from −23.6 percent in Europe to −49.2 percent in Oceania.

In depth

Data

 FAOSTAT Emissions totals

 FAOSTAT Emissions indicators

 FAOSTAT Emissions intensities

 FAOSTAT Emissions from crops

 FAOSTAT Emissions from livestock

 FAOSTAT Emissions from Energy use in agriculture

 FAOSTAT Emissions from Forests

 FAOSTAT Emissions from Fires

 FAOSTAT Emissions from Drained organic soils

 FAOSTAT Emissions from pre and post agricultural production

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Methods

 Methods for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from food systems. Part I: domestic food transport. FAO Statistics Working Paper Series 21-27

 Methods for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from food systems Part II: waste disposal. FAO Statistics Working Paper Series Issue 21/28

 Methods for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from food systems. Part III: energy use in fertilizer manufacturing, food processing, packaging, retail and household consumption. FAO Statistics Working Paper Series / 21-29

 Methods for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from food systems Part IV: Pesticides manufacturing. FAO Statistics Working Paper Series 22/32

 Methods for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from food systems Part V: Household food consumption. FAO Statistics Working Paper Series / 23-33

 Methods for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from food systems Part VI: fluorinated gas emissions FAO Statistics Working Paper Series / 23-35

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Papers

 Flammini A, Adzmir H, Pattison R, Karl K, Allouche Y, Tubiello FN. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Cold Chains in Agrifood Systems. Sustainability. 2024; 16(21):9184.

 Tubiello, F.N., Karl, K., Flammini, A., Gütschow, J., Obli-Laryea, G., Conchedda, G., Pan, X.et al. 2022. Pre- and Post-Production Processes Increasingly Dominate Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agri-Food Systems. Earth System Science Data 14, no. 4 (2022): 1795–1809.

 Tubiello, F.N., Rosenzweig, C., Conchedda, G., Karl, K., Gütschow, J., Xueyao, P. et al. 2021. Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems: building the evidence base. Environmental Research Letters. 2021 June;16(6):065007.

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FAO GHG data in international reports

 New UN report: Rise in nitrous oxide emissions endangers pathway to 1.5°C, the ozone layer, and human health

 Recipe for a Livable Planet: Achieving Net Zero Emissions in the Agrifood System

 IPCC, 2022: Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [P.R. Shukla, J. Skea, R. Slade, A. Al Khourdajie, R. van Diemen, D. McCollum, M. Pathak, S. Some, P. Vyas, R. Fradera, M. Belkacemi, A. Hasija, G. Lisboa, S. Luz, J. Malley, (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA.

 Mbow, C., C. Rosenzweig, L.G. Barioni, T.G. Benton, M. Herrero, M. Krishnapillai, E. Liwenga, P. Pradhan, M.G. Rivera-Ferre, T. Sapkota, F.N. Tubiello, Y. Xu, 2019: Food Security. In: Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems [P.R. Shukla, J. Skea, E. Calvo Buendia, V. Masson-Delmotte, H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, P. Zhai, R. Slade, S. Connors, R. van Diemen, M. Ferrat, E. Haughey, S. Luz, S. Neogi, M. Pathak, J. Petzold, J. Portugal Pereira, P. Vyas, E. Huntley, K. Kissick, M. Belkacemi, J. Malley, (eds.)]. In press.