Statistics Explained

Archive:Agri-environmental indicator - greenhouse gas emissions

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Data from September 2017 for the period 1990 - 2015.

This Statistics Explained article is a fact sheet of the European Union (EU) agri-environmental indicator greenhouse gas emissions. It consists of an overview of recent data, complemented by all information on definitions, measurement methods and the context needed to interpret the data correctly. This article is part of a set of similar fact sheets providing a complete picture of the state of the agri-environmental indicators in the EU.

Table 1: Emissions from agriculture CH4+N20 (kilotonnes of CO2 equivalents), 2015, EU-28
Source: European Environment Agency
Figure 1: Methane and nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural sector (kilotonnes of CO2 equivalents), EU-28, 1990-2015
Source: European Environment Agency
Figure 2: Change in numbers of livestock (index 1990 = 100), EU-28, 1990-2015
Source: Country reporting to UNFCCC GHG National Inventory Submissions
Figure 3: Change in nitrogenous fertiliser applications (%), 1990-2015
Source: Country reporting to UNFCCC GHG National Inventory Submissions
Figure 4: Contribution of agriculture to total GHG emissions (%), EU-28, 2015
Source: European Environment Agency
Figure 5: Change in aggregated emissions of methane and nitrous oxide from agricultural sector (%), 1990-2015
Source: European Environment Agency
Figure 6. Methane emissions from enteric fermentation and manure management (kilotonnes of CO2 equivalents), 2015
Source: European Environment Agency
Figure 7: Change in emissions of methane from agriculture (%), 1990-2015
Source: European Environment Agency
Figure 8. Nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils and manure management (kilotonnes of CO2 equivalents), 2015
Source: European Environment Agency
Figure 9: Change in emissions of nitrous oxide from agriculture (%), 1990-2015
Source: European Environment Agency
Figure 10: Aggregated emissions of CH4 and N2O per utilised agricultural area (kilotonnes CO2 equivalent per thousand hectares), 2015
Source: European Environment Agency

The indicator measures the aggregated annual emissions from agriculture of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Emissions are shown relative to data for the year 1990 and are expressed as CO2 equivalents.

Main Indicator:

Supporting Indicator:

  • Share (%) of agriculture in GHG emissions

Main statistical findings

Key messages

  • The agricultural sector produced 426 473 kilotonnes of CO2 equivalent of greenhouse gases in 2015, about 10 % of the EU's total GHG emissions (excluding Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) net removals) for that year. GHG emissions from the agricultural sector declined by 20 % between 1990 and 2015.
  • The fall in greenhouse gas emissions was due principally to a 17 % decline in nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils driven by the reduced use of nitrogenous fertilisers, as well as a 22 % decrease in methane enteric fermentation emissions caused by a reduction in livestock numbers.

Assessment

Total emissions from the EU agricultural sector

The EU's agricultural sector accounted for 10 % of the EU's total GHG emissions (Figure 4) in 2015, producing 426 473  kilotonnes of CO2 equivalent of non-CO2 greenhouse gases (Table 1). The emissions level from agriculture in 2015 was one fifth less than the corresponding level in 1990. Declines were fastest in the period through until 2000, but continued more slowly through until 2012. In each of the last three years of the reference period, however, GHG emission levels rose (Figure 1). The developments in the EU's total GHG emissions from agriculture between 1990 and 2015 closely reflected the composite trends in emissions of methane and nitrous oxide from agriculture (21 % and 19 %, lower respectively - see Figure 1, Figure 7, Figure 9).

The overall reduction in GHG emissions from agriculture during the reference period can in large part be explained by the reduced use of nitrogenous fertilisers, which led to lower nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils (17 % lower), and by a reduction in livestock numbers i.e. cattle and sheep (Figure 2 and Figure 3), which led to lower methane enteric fermentation emissions (22 % lower).

It is important to note, however, that the EU's emission reductions have been offset, at least in part, by increased production outside the EU. Imports of food and drink into the EU have, for example, increased significantly since 1990.

Although the total decrease in agricultural non-CO2 emissions across the EU-28 was -20 % between 1990 and 2015, individual Member States showed widely varying trends (Figure 5). Based on the official data reported by the Member States, Slovakia (-55 %), Bulgaria (-51 %) and Estonia (-50 %) recorded the largest reductions in relative terms.

In contrast, Cyprus (+6 %) and Spain (+4 %) were the only two Member States for which emissions of greenhouse gases from agriculture increased between 1990 and 2015. This is largely explained by expanding livestock numbers, particularly pigs (Cyprus) and cattle, pigs and poultry (Spain).

Methane emissions from the EU agricultural sector

Enteric fermentation of feed in the stomachs of livestock (particularly cattle) is the largest single source of CH4 in the EU-28. Emissions of methane across the EU-28 from agriculture decreased by 64 304  kilotonnes of CO2 equivalents between 1990 and 2015, a reduction of 21 % compared with 1990 levels. Emissions from the two major sources of methane, enteric fermentation and manure management showed a 22 % and a 17 % decrease, respectively. The main factor behind the absolute reduction in emissions has been the economic transformation in newer EU Member States and reduced numbers of ruminant livestock (i.e. cattle and sheep) due to greater efficiencies in the livestock sector (e.g. a 26 % decrease in cattle numbers has occurred across the EU-28 between 1990 and 2015, sheep numbers have decreased more, by 33 %) (Figure 2).

The share of methane emissions that occur from enteric fermentation or manure management also varies between Member States (Figure 6). France is the largest emitter of methane from enteric fermentation and accounted for 18 % of all EU-28 emissions of CH4 from this source in 2015. Germany and the United Kingdom followed, with a 13 % and 12.5 % share, respectively. Differences between countries are generally due to the types and numbers of livestock held within each country coupled with other factors such as climatic and stock feed differences.

Across the EU-28, almost all countries reduced emissions of CH4 from agriculture between 1990 and 2015. In relative terms, Bulgaria (-70 %) and Slovakia (-64 %) had the largest percentage decreases during this period (Figure 7). Cyprus (+17 %), Spain (+7 %) and Luxembourg (+1.6 %) were the only Member States that reported increased methane emissions during this period. The larger increases in methane emissions observed in Cyprus and Spain are at least partially linked to increases in ruminant animal numbers (cattle and/or swine, respectively) that occurred between 1990 and 2015.

Nitrous oxide emissions from the agricultural sector

Nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils are the largest source of N2O in the EU-28. Emissions of N2O from this source have decreased by 19 % between 1990 and 2015, largely due to a general lower use of nitrogen fertiliser on farmland in the majority of Member States during this period (Figure 3).

Emissions of nitrous oxide varied widely across the Member States between 1990 and 2015 (Figure 8). In absolute terms, France as the leading agriculture producer in the EU is the largest emitter of N2O, responsible for 20 % of all EU-28 agricultural emissions of N2O in 2015. Germany (17 %), the United Kingdom (9 %) and Poland (8 %) are also significant emitters. Four Member States have reported large reductions of N2O from the agriculture sector between 1990 and 2015, reducing emissions by 40 % or more (Figure 9): Slovakia (-47 %), Czech Republic (-46 %), Romania (-45 %) and Estonia (-44 %).

Changes in agricultural practices in a number of Member States have led to relative differences in the amount of N2O emitted. However it is necessary to interpret trends of N2O emissions in the Member States with care as a number of countries have methodological problems with estimating N2O emissions from agricultural soils.

Greenhouse gas emissions per utilised agricultural area (UAA)

Figure 10 shows the aggregated emissions of CH4 and N2O expressed per utilised agricultural area (UAA). This analysis provides one measure of the intensity of agricultural activity within a country, and illustrates how the varying land use and agricultural practices across the EU-28 results in variations in emissions intensity occurring. Four Member States, the Netherlands, Belgium, Malta, and Luxembourg have significantly higher emissions per UAA than the other EU-28 Member States, and more than twice that of the EU-28 average, which reflects the higher intensification of agricultural activities within these three countries.

Data sources and availability

Indicator definition

Aggregated annual emissions from agriculture of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (N2O). Emissions are shown relative to data for the year 1990 and are expressed as CO2 equivalents.

Measurements

Main indicator:

  • GHG emissions from agriculture (kilotonnes of CO2 equivalents per year)

Supporting indicator:

  • Share (%) of agriculture in GHG emissions

Links with other indicators

This indicator has links to a number of other AEI indicators that describe developments in some of the main contributory factors that affect emissions of greenhouse gases from the agricultural sector.

Data used and methodology

Emissions data used in this indicator is from the official national total and sectorial greenhouse gas emissions data submissions reported annually by Member States to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), EU Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Mechanism and EEA European Environment Information and Observation Network (EIONET). For the EU, the data are compiled by the EEA in the report (and related database) “European Union Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990-2015 and Inventory Report 2017”. The supporting livestock and fertiliser use data are also from the 2017 annual official national greenhouse gas data submissions under the EU Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Mechanism and EEA/EIONET. Utilised agricultural area (UAA) data are from Eurostat annual crop statistics. Recommended default methodologies for emission data collection are compiled in the IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.

Each country estimates GHG emissions based on volume of activities (e.g. livestock numbers, agricultural practices) and associated emission factors. The annual aggregated emissions of CH4 and N2O are weighted using their respective 100-year Global Warming Potential (GWP) coefficients (25 for CH4, 298 for N2O). Data are expressed in kilotonnes CO2 equivalent. Carbon dioxide emissions do not include emissions from fossil fuel combustion sources that arise from agricultural-related processes such as transport, greenhouse heating and grain drying. Such sources are inventoried in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) under the Energy section, but the individual contribution of agriculture is not inventoried. Under the agreed international guidelines for estimating emissions of greenhouse gases, countries are encouraged to use country-specific methods wherever possible as this leads to improved emission estimates. The different methods used by countries can sometimes mean that data are not fully comparable between countries. Care should therefore be taken when analysing the trends between countries.

Context

Sustainable development and the integration of environmental considerations into European Commission policy instruments are long-term objectives for the EU, as expressed for example in the 7th Environmental Action Programme and the EU Sustainable Development Strategy. In recent years there has been a growing awareness of the need to consider the concepts of sustainable development with respect to agricultural processes, a number of which can have a damaging effect on the environment. Globally, the ultimate objective of the UNFCCC convention and any related legal instruments that the Conference of the Parties may adopt is to achieve stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Such a level should be achieved within a time-frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.

The ‘greenhouse effect’ is the term commonly used to describe the natural process through which atmosphere gases absorb and re-radiate infrared radiation from the earth’s surface, and which is largely responsible for life on earth. It is generally accepted that human activities, such as the combustion of fossil fuels, are altering the composition of gases in the atmosphere, which could cause heat that would normally be radiated out to be retained. The UNFCCC, through its Kyoto protocol, presently covers 6 main greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). The Doha Amendment to the Kyoto protocol includes nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) together with these gases.

Like any other economic sector the agriculture sector produces greenhouse gases and is a major source of the non-CO2 greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide. Both of these gases are many times more powerful greenhouse gases than CO2. In addition, agriculture can significantly affect GHG balances through emissions and removals of CO2 by soils and biomass and through the emissions of GHG precursors such as ammonia, and can further affect radiative forcing through the emission of dust and aerosols or by changing the surface albedo (reflectivity of the land surface). The annual agricultural emissions of methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide may be aggregated and weighted by their global warming potentials. The global warming potential (GWP) of a greenhouse gas is defined as the ratio of the time-integrated radiative forcing from the instantaneous release of 1 kg of a substance relative to that of 1 kg of a reference gas (in this instance, carbon dioxide). GWP values used throughout this indicator factsheet are the 100-year GWPs recommended by the IPCC in the Fourth Assessment Report, which comply with current international reporting standards under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto protocol. Methane has a 100 year GWP of 25, meaning that methane is effectively 25 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2 over this time period. Nitrous oxide has a GWP of 298 over a 100 year time span and is therefore 298  times more powerful in terms of its global warming potential than CO2.

Since 1990, the main factors which have influenced EU emissions of greenhouse gases from the agriculture sector, aside from general underlying economic trends, have been regulatory instruments such as the reforms of the Common agricultural policy (CAP), and implementation of the Nitrates Directive. These have both had the indirect effect of changing agricultural practices across the EU, and have, for example, led to a general reduced use of nitrogenous fertilisers across the EU. In turn, such changes lead to specific environmental impacts occurring. In the case of the reduced livestock numbers, EU greenhouse gas emissions from e.g. cattle and sheep enteric fermentation have consequently been reduced.

Policy relevance and context

Internationally, the need to avoid and mitigate the potential consequences of climate change are being addressed through the UNFCCC, but climate change is also an issue of high priority within the EU itself. Under the UNFCCC, industrialised countries that have signed the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol (the so-called Annex I Parties) have agreed emission reduction targets for a basket of seven greenhouse gases, including methane and nitrous oxide, the two main greenhouse gases produced from the agriculture sector. The EU and its 28 Member States, with Iceland, agree to jointly fulfill the emission reduction commitment for the period 2013-2020. This commitment is in line with the EU energy and climate change legislation package, finalised in 2009, which sets an overall target of a 20 % reduction by 2020 compared to 1990 for the EU-28 Member States. Emissions from sectors not included in the Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) - such as agriculture, transport, housing and waste will be cut by 10 % overall from 2005 levels under the EU Effort Sharing Decision. Emissions covered by the Emissions Trading System will be 21 % less than 2005 by 2020. In 2009 the EU has also pledged to increase its emissions reduction to 30 % by 2020, on condition that other major emitting countries in the developed and developing world commit to do their fair share under a future global climate agreement.

Under the Paris Agreement, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) have been submitted, whereby the EU and its Member States have committed to reduce emissions in the European Union by at least 40 % by 2030.

Aside from general underlying economic trends, which can affect the level of greenhouse gas emissions, a number of European Commission policy instruments have also indirectly affected emissions from the agriculture sector since 1990. For example, the reforms of the EU Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) (aimed at changing the methods in which Member States support their farm sectors) and the implementation of the Nitrates Directive (aimed amongst others at reducing water pollution) have already led to changes in farming practices. These changes include a decrease in the use of nitrogenous fertilisers (resulting in a reduction of nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils).

Most EU Member States expect greenhouse gas emission reductions in the future from the agriculture sector. It is expected that these savings will occur through implemented and existing policies, as well as additional regulatory, economic and fiscal measures. In particular regulatory policies and measures are regarded as being important mechanisms through which agricultural greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced. There are important differences between emission reductions achieved through reducing activities (such as reducing heads of livestock) versus reductions achieved through reducing emission intensity of production (i.e. emitting less per unit of production). The latter requires important scientific and technological advances, and also more sophisticated inventory and monitoring systems to quantify and monitor the reductions.

Agri-environmental context

Agriculture contributes to climate change through the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Agriculture can also contribute to climate change mitigation by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and by sequestering carbon while maintaining food production. However, agriculture is also highly exposed to climate change, as farming activities directly depend on climatic conditions (for more information, please follow this link).

For the purpose of international reporting, the emissions of greenhouse gases from agriculture are categorised into the following sources:

  • enteric fermentation (CH4)
  • manure management (CH4, N2O)
  • rice cultivation (CH4)
  • agricultural soil management (CO2 CH4, N2O, but not including CO2 emissions/removals resulting from changes in soil carbon stocks, which are covered under the LULUCF sector)
  • prescribed burning of savannahs (CH4, N2O)
  • field burning of agricultural residues (CH4, N2O)

Methane emissions

The production of methane is closely related to livestock production. Methane emissions mainly occur from enteric fermentation in ruminant animals (e.g. cattle and sheep) and some non-ruminant animals (e.g. pigs and horses), and from the decomposition of manure under anaerobic conditions. The amount of methane emitted by livestock is estimated from the number of animals and an emissions rate per animal. The emission rates mainly depend on the type of digestive system of the animal, the age, weight and energy consumption of the animal, and the quality and quantity of its feed intake.

Emissions of CH4 from manure are calculated based on the amount of manure produced (from the type and number of animals) and the proportion of manure that decomposes anaerobically (itself dependent on climate and manure management and storage practices). These anaerobic conditions often occur when large numbers of animals are managed in confined areas (e.g. dairy farms, beef feedlots, and pig and poultry farms).

Nitrous oxide emissions

Emissions of nitrous oxide are generated during manure storage when manure nitrogen is converted into nitrous oxide. Nitrogen from inorganic fertilisers, animal waste, sewage sludge applications, biological N-fixation and crop residues can be converted to nitrous oxide in the soil. The category ‘agricultural soils’ mentioned above, includes emissions from manure after spreading on soils, but excludes emissions due to manure handling. These latter emissions are included in the category ‘manure management’.

Land use, land use change and forestry - LULUCF

Emissions to and removals from the atmosphere of CO2 result from changes in soil carbon content in grassland and cropland under agricultural practices, and from the change of land use (conversion of grassland to and from cropland, or to and from other uses). While cropland is a source of CO2 emissions, grassland is, on average, a sink for CO2. Such emissions of CO2 arising from land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector are not included in this factsheet.

Mitigation strategies

There are a number of possible farm management practices[1] [2] that can potentially reduce emissions of agriculture greenhouse gases below current levels. The measures vary in cost-effectiveness and practicality, but include options such as optimisation of fertiliser application rates, non-fertilised set-aside areas, improved feed conversion efficiency by optimising livestock diets, improved animal productivity and rumen efficiency through use of feed additives and breeding, better control of manure management systems to reduce the extent of anaerobic decomposition, and controlling anaerobic digestion by covering manure and slurry lagoons and capturing the methane given off (to use as biogas). Measures to reduce CO2 emissions from soils or to enhance carbon sequestration include the maintenance of permanent pasture, conservation tillage, appropriate crop rotation and cover crops.

See also

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Database

  • Agriculture and environment (aei), see:
Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture (data source: EEA) (aei_pr_ghg)
  • Agri-environmental indicators (tai), see:
Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture (% of total emissions) (tai08)

Dedicated section

Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)

Other information

Legislation: Commission Staff working document accompanying COM(2006)508 final

External links

  • Database:
  • Methodology
  • Other external links:
  • European Environment Agency

Notes

  1. ↑ https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en/publications/eip-agri-focus-group-reducing-emissions-cattle
  2. ↑ http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/note/join/2014/513997/IPOL-AGRI_NT(2014)513997_EN.pdf
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