Key points

• Modelling results suggest that a comprehensive policy strategy, comprising of agriculture and land use emission taxes and subsidies for carbon sequestration, at a carbon price consistent with a 2⁰C (1.5⁰C) objective could reduce global AFOLU emissions by 8GtCO2 eq/year (12 GtCO2 eq/year) in 2050. This represents an 89% (129%) reduction in net AFOLU emission.
• 63% of the net emission reductions with the comprehensive policy package relate to land use and land use change and forestry (mainly avoided deforestation) emissions, 28% to agriculture emissions and 9% to soil carbon sequestration.
• The policy choices invoke different trade-offs: while a global carbon tax on AFOLU is found to be twice as effective in lowering emissions as an equivalently priced emission abatement subsidy, the use of emission taxes lowers agricultural production by 3-8% and per capital consumption by 2-4%, which emission abatement subsidies avoid. Taxes also raise revenues, while subsidies require government expenditures.
• A shift to lower emission diets by consumers is assessed to have a much smaller impact on reducing agricultural emissions than any of the policy packages that tax these emissions.