logo
ResearchBunny Logo
Defining national net zero goals is critical for food and land use policy

Environmental Studies and Forestry

Defining national net zero goals is critical for food and land use policy

G. Bishop, C. Duffy, et al.

Inconsistent definitions of national net-zero greenhouse gas emission targets are stalling effective land use and food policies. This investigation by George Bishop, Colm Duffy, Rémi Prudhomme, Annette Cowie, Cathal O'Donoghue, Michelle Cain, Gary J. Lanigan, and David Styles delves into 3000 scenarios of Irish agriculture, revealing that significant land transformation is essential for achieving measurable success in emission targets.

00:00
00:00
Playback language: English
Abstract
Inconsistent definitions of national net-zero (NZ) greenhouse gas emission targets hinder effective land use and food policy. This study analyzes 3000 randomized scenarios of Irish agricultural production and land use combinations using ten NZ definitions, revealing a 1–85% success rate depending on the definition. Common actions across definitions include afforestation, organic soil rewetting, and cattle destocking. Ambitious emission abatement moderates, but doesn't replace, these actions. Achieving NZ requires significant land sector transformation in Ireland, necessitating a vision for future land use that supports a sustainable food system and circular bioeconomy. International consensus on methane emission accounting in NZ targets is urgently needed.
Publisher
Communications Earth & Environment
Published On
Feb 28, 2024
Authors
George Bishop, Colm Duffy, Rémi Prudhomme, Annette Cowie, Cathal O'Donoghue, Michelle Cain, Gary J. Lanigan, David Styles
Tags
net-zero
greenhouse gas emissions
agricultural production
land use
sustainable food system
afforestation
methane emissions

Related Publications

Explore these studies to deepen your understanding of the subject.

Trees on smallholder farms and forest restoration are critical for Rwanda to achieve net zero emissions
Environmental Studies and Forestry

Trees on smallholder farms and forest restoration are critical for Rwanda to achieve net zero emissions

M. Mugabowindekwe, M. Brandt, et al.

Transition to cellular agriculture reduces agriculture land use and greenhouse gas emissions but increases demand for critical materials
Food Science and Technology

Transition to cellular agriculture reduces agriculture land use and greenhouse gas emissions but increases demand for critical materials

M. E. Wali, S. R. Golroudbary, et al.

An interactive model to assess pathways for agriculture and food sector contributions to country-level net-zero targets
Environmental Studies and Forestry

An interactive model to assess pathways for agriculture and food sector contributions to country-level net-zero targets

G. Baudry, L. Costa, et al.

Prevalence and network structure of post-traumatic stress symptoms and their association with suicidality among Chinese mental health professionals immediately following the end of China's Dynamic Zero-COVID Policy: a national survey
Medicine and Health

Prevalence and network structure of post-traumatic stress symptoms and their association with suicidality among Chinese mental health professionals immediately following the end of China's Dynamic Zero-COVID Policy: a national survey

P. Chen, L. Zhang, et al.

Listen, Learn & Level Up
Over 10,000 hours of research content in 25+ fields, available in 12+ languages.
No more digging through PDFs, just hit play and absorb the world's latest research in your language, on your time.
listen to research audio papers with researchbunny