Global energy use and carbon emissions from irrigated agriculture

Irrigation significantly impacts the environment, yet its global energy consumption and carbon emissions remain unclear. This study assesses these impacts and potential reductions through efficient, low-carbon irrigation practices. Irrigation contributes 216 million metric tons of CO2 emissions and consumes 1896 petajoules of energy annually, representing 15% of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and energy use. Groundwater pumping accounts for 89% of energy consumption despite only irrigating 40% of agricultural land. Future irrigation expansion could increase energy use by 28%. Efficient, low-carbon methods could halve energy consumption and reduce CO2 emissions by 90%, although country-specific feasibility limits this to a 55% reduction globally. This research provides crucial insights for assessing irrigation's viability in enhancing agricultural adaptive capacity.

Jingxiu Qin, Weili Duan, Shan Zou, Yaning Chen, Wenjing Huang, Lorenzo Rosa