Agriculture & Climate
Our climate is changing. Since 2015, policymakers in the EU have set several policy goals to mitigate, and adapt to, this changing climate. This includes the Paris agreement (2015), EU Green Deal (2019), EU Climate Law (2020) and the EU adaptation strategy (2021). Several intermittent policy goals have been set to eventually achieve a climate neutral economy in 2050.
Agriculture plays a dual and critical role in the climate challenge: it is both a major source of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and one of the sectors most vulnerable to a changing climate. According to the European Environment Agency’s analysis of the EU-27, agriculture accounts for around 11% of total domestic GHG emissions (not including energy use, imported animal feed or fertilizer production), mainly due to methane from livestock and nitrous oxide from soils (see fig 1.).
Within the sector, methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) dominate: CH₄ from enteric fermentation and manure management contributes roughly 49% of agricultural GHG emissions, while N₂O from soils accounts for about 30% in the EU.
At the same time, the risks that climate change poses to agriculture are increasing. Extreme weather events, droughts, and floods already threaten crops and livestock. A recent study by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank estimated that climate-related losses in the agricultural sector average €28.3 billion per year, or about 6% of total crop and livestock production. These losses are expected to rise sharply by mid-century unless more robust and effective adaptation measures are put in place.
To achieve the EU’s goal of a 55% reduction in emissions by 2030, while continuing to play a vital role in global food production, agriculture must both accelerate emission reductions and strengthen its capacity to adapt to a changing climate and more extreme weather events (EWE’s).
Moving towards Climate-Smart Agriculture
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Sustainably ensuring agricultural productivity and incomes
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Adapting to and building resilience against climate change
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Reducing and/or removing greenhouse gas emissions wherever possible
Through measures such as improved soil, crop, and nutrient management, optimized livestock feeding, better manure and effluent handling, and precision farming, farmers can reduce methane and nitrous oxide emissions while enhancing carbon sequestration. Climate adaptation can also be achieved through practices such as more efficient water use and storage, greater crop diversity, prevention of soil compaction, and mitigation of heat stress in livestock.
Research and innovation as a stepping stone
Innovative approaches are urgently needed to advance Climate-Smart Agriculture in both plant and animal production. This includes an improved understanding of synergies and trade-offs between adaptation, mitigation and productivity at the farm level. It needs strengthening of capacity and methodology for testing, monitoring and evaluation of climate smart tools and services.
In Europe, Experimental Research Stations (ERS) play a central role in agricultural research and innovation (R&I). As key components of the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS), ERS are pivotal in developing, testing, and disseminating new climate-smart solutions, and in supporting their adoption by farmers. Serving as key sites where innovations are co-created, tested, and demonstrated—at crop/animal, field/herd, landscape/ecosystem, and farm levels—ERS are essential for driving the transition to Climate Smart Agriculture.
Researchers joining forces in Horizon Europe Climate Smart Research
In the Horizon Europe project Climate Smart Research, over 30 organisations join forces in a European wide network of ERS to design, test and implement climate-smart farming systems under diverse, real-world conditions across the continent.
CSR also tests and validates individual climate smart farming practices and pursues harmonisation of research methods. The network of research stations expand and share a vast knowledge base of climate smart agriculture, supporting Europe’s transition to a sustainable and resilient agricultural future.
