Jump directly to: Top of text , Main navigation , sub navigation , meta navigation
The theoretical abatement potential below 40 € per tonne is close to 6 Gt CO2e/year by 2030. The situation in this sector is however very challenging. Close to 70% of the emissions occur in developing countries, the sources are rather diffuse, the measurement and monitoring process is difficult to implement and the relation between emissions from the sector and issues associated with poverty are strong. Assuming realistic realization rates of about 25% for agriculture and 34% for landfills, gives this sector an abatement potential by 2030 of about 1.9 Gt CO2e/year at a cost below 40 € per tonne CO2e. Assuming a realistic realization rate of about 25% for agriculture and 34% for landfills/wastes the realistic potential is reduced to 1.4 Gt CO2e.
Within the agriculture sector, the areas rice, livestock and soils have abatement opportunities. The major measures within the rice sector include reduced flooding of rice fields, i.e., mid-season drainage of rice fields to reduce anaerobic conditions, shallow flooding and a shift towards cultivation of upland rice that does not require flooding. The feasibility of these measures vary, where mid-season drainage depends largely on the watering systems while it also emits N2O emissions, shallow flooding is only feasible in non-rain fed areas and the use of upland rice is only possible in certain regions.
The second measurement within the rice sector is a shift in the use of fertilisers towards ammonium sulphate that replaces urea and ammonium, slow release fertilizers and off-season straw amendment that reduces the amount of available biomass for decomposition. The feasibility of these sub-measures is rather low and requires changes in practises. The total theoretical maximum potential for the rice sector is 0.8 GtCO2e/year, while the realistic abatement potential, at less than €40/tonne, is 0.14 GtCO2e/year in 2030.
Within the livestock sector, improved feeding standards, a change in the use of drugs used and more efficient manure management could, theoretically, lead to a potential of 1.1 GtCO2e/year. The realistic scenario, at <40 €/tonne, is however at 0.22 GtCO2e/year in 2030. The feeding sector includes measures of improved feed conversion to make livestock grow faster and intensive grazing by more frequent rotation between pastures.
The first measure is already in use in many developed countries and could be transferred to developing countries while the second could be hard to implement since it results in lower yields. The major mechanism within the manure management area is to collect manure and store it in various kinds of digesters to extract the CH4 for uses such as for power generation or cooking. This is already in use in India and some developed countries and could potentially be introduced in dairy farms.
The total theoretical abatement potentials within the soil sector is 2.9 GtCO2e/year in 2030, including a shift in fertiliser and a the implementation of a no-till process. The realistic potential is only 0.76 GtCO2e/year. The fertiliser shift option include an overall reduction in the use of fertilizers, a splitting of fertilisers into smaller pieces over time and introduce the use of nitrification inhibitors that are chemical agents that inhibit or retard the nitrification in soil. The no-till option represents the cultivation of the soil with reduced or no ploughing but this implies large shifts in cultivation methods. It is the no-till option that contributes largely to the potential of 0.76 GtCO2e/year with a potential of 0.63 GtCO2e/year.
Within the waste sector, abatement opportunities exist within landfills and wastewater. One sub-measure within the landfills areas are the capturing and/or use of CH4 by building systems of wells and pipes in the landfills to collect and flare CH4. The CH4 can then be compressed and used. This is already required by law in the USA, due to public health issues around the landfill - and that technique could be transferred to other countries.
The second measurement is to reduce landfills by increasing the extent of recycling practise. This is already in use in Germany and Sweden while it has proven harder to implement in other countries. In theory, the combined potential for landfills options is 0.7 GtCO2e/year while the realistic potential abatement is 0.24 at a less than €40/tonne. The second opportunity, wastewater, include better treatment by filtering wastewater to reduce the amount of decomposable substances in the water and thus the emission and, secondly, digesters i.e., by letting wastewater emit CH4 in anaerobic digesters before releasing it out of the sewage system. These measures are already in use and piloted in some countries.
Jump directly to: Top of text , Search , Main navigation , sub navigation , meta navigation , Top of page
