Agriculture contributes a significant share of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are causing climate change – 17% directly through agricultural activities and an additional 7-14% through changes in land use.
Why does agriculture affect climate change?
Agriculture contributes to climate change
At every stage, food provisioning releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Farming in particular releases significant amounts of methane and nitrous oxide, two powerful greenhouse gases. ... Agriculture accounted for 10% of the EU's total greenhouse-gas emissions in 2012.
How is agriculture making climate change worse?
Besides its contribution to global warming, farming has other detrimental effects on the environment. Agriculture is often the reason for deforestation and a change in land use, from natural ecosystems that take up and store carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, to farmland.
