LocationsAgriculture is a significant contributor to climate change and global food security. The sector is comparable to the world’s backbone, actively nourishing human well-being; however, it also unleashes a great amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into this world.
On a global scale, the sectors most responsible for GHG emissions are as follows: energy (34%; 20 GtCO2-eq), industry (24%; 14 GtCO2-eq), agriculture, forestry, and land use (22%; 13 GtCO2-eq), transportation (15%;8.7 GtCO2-eq), and building (6%; 3.3 GtCO2-eq). The agricultural sector is the third-top contributor of global GHG emissions. Zooming into Thailand, GHG emissions are most generated by the following sectors: energy (65.89%; 254,307.21 ktCO2eq), agriculture, forestry, and land use (17.86%; 68,933.74 ktCO2eq), industry (10.50%; 40,527.22 ktCO2eq), and waste (5.75%; 22,172.97 ktCO2eq).
In 2017, agriculture contributed to over 20% of global carbon emissions from all human activities. GHG emissions generated by the sector were 9.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq). Out of the total emissions, 5.3 billion tons were produced by crop and livestock activities; 3 billion tons from livestock production processes such as enteric fermentation and manure decomposition; and 4 billion tons from land use and land use change. Under land use, deforestation caused 2.9 billion tons of CO2eq, and drainage and organic burning 1 billion tons of CO2eq. However, carbon emissions from the agricultural sector declined over time: from 29% in 1990 to 25% in 2000 and 20% from 2010-2017.
As for Thailand, the agricultural sector produced 58,486.02 GgCO2eq of GHG emissions in 2017. More than half of the emissions (51.28%; 29,990.25 GgCO2eq) were generated by rice cultivation, followed by enteric fermentation (17.19%; 10,052 GgCO2eq) and other agricultural activities, such as urea fertilization, liming, and field burning — all contribute to GHG emissions.
Although the agricultural sector releases massive amounts of GHG emissions, it’s also crucial to the well-being of the Thai people and the rest of the world. It’s our mission to find sustainable alternatives that uplift both farmers’ livelihoods and the environment. To promote food sustainability, we must adopt agricultural practices that reduce GHG emissions as well as enhance farmers’ climate-adaptive capacity. The answer is sustainable agriculture that upholds environmental sustainability and farmers’ livelihood equally. There are various approaches to sustainable agriculture. For example, instead of burning sugarcane leaves — leaving harmful carbon footprints behind — we can use them as soil cover or livestock feed. Rather than lime or use urea and chemical fertilizers — all of which are the sources of GHG emissions — we can use manure and compost, adopt circular farming, or even more nutritious livestock feed to reduce Methane emissions from enteric fermentation
Developing agricultural technology, conducting more research, and building agricultural workers’ capacity are all essential. Better alternatives, more sustainable, according to the Climate Change Action Plan for the Agricultural Sector 2023 - 2027 developed by Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (CCAPA) with support from UNDP, FAO and The International Climate Initiative (IKI), which helps stabilize Thai agriculture’s steps towards a sustainable future and climate change adaptation.
References
- GHG emissions of all world countries (EU, 2024),
- Greenhouse gas emissions by country and sector (infographic)(EU, 2023)
- Emissions Trends and Drivers (IPCC),
- Thailand’s First Biennial Transparency Report (2024)
- The share of agriculture in total greenhouse gas emissions: Global, regional and country trends 1990–2017 (FAO, 2020)
- Emissions due to agriculture: Global, regional and country trends 2000–2018 (FAO, 2021)
- Thailand’s Fourth National Communication (2022)
