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KNOWLEDGE FOR POLICY

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Publication | 2024

2024 Breakthrough Agenda Report – Agriculture

The 2024 Breakthrough Agenda Report – Agriculture focuses on reducing emissions from the livestock and fertilizer sectors, which are the two largest contributors to agricultural emissions. The report emphasizes the need for stronger international collaboration to transform the sector into a more climate-resilient, low-emissions system.

Key Findings

  • Global emissions from agrifood systems have remained steady at around 16 gigatons of CO2 equivalent between 2019 and 2021.
  • Livestock methane and fertilizer use are among the sector's most significant contributors to GHGs.
  • The report highlights four technologies to reduce emissions: methane inhibitors, low-methane forages, green ammonia, and site-specific nutrient management (SSNM).

Recommendations

  • Increase international climate finance to support sustainable agricultural technologies and approaches.
  • Promote international sharing of knowledge on policy and implementation to create demand for proven technologies.
  • Develop common metrics and indicators to track the adoption of sustainable agricultural solutions.
  • Increase support for food system research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) to support the uptake and scaling of promising technologies and approaches.
  • Enable the private sector to scale up solutions through global markets.

Priority Actions

  • Deliver greater quantity and quality of climate finance to support the deployment of sustainable agricultural technologies and approaches.
  • Test, develop evidence, and share learning on policy and implementation.
  • Develop common metrics and indicators to track the adoption of agricultural solutions.
  • Begin strategic dialogues on how to ensure international trade facilitates the transition to sustainable and resilient agricultural systems.