Agricultural activities and the global carbon cycle

The Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has introduced the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as a scheme for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction through cooperation between Annex 1 Parties (investing countries), which are committed to certain GHG emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol, and non‐Annex 1 Parties (host countries), which do not have any commitments to reduce GHG emissions. The eligibility of forestry projects under the CDM is limited to afforestation/reforestation (A/R) projects. A/R CDM allows Certified Emissions Reduction Units (CERs) to be purchased through carbon sequestration by afforestation or reforestation projects in developing countries. A total of 17 methodologies have been approved by the Executive Board of the UNFCCC. Out of these, 11 approved methodologies are for large‐scale A/R CDM project activities and 6 are for small‐scale A/R CDM project activities. This study identifies some potential land use changes for the development of new and approved methodologies of A/R CDM project activities. These suggested land use changes with high potential are pasture lands, landfills, mountainous areas, and mined lands. The suggested future land uses in A/R CDM project activities are due to their good potential in sequestering carbon, success in the establishment of plantation, and unavailability of the approved methodologies of A/R CDM project activities that are applicable to these suggested land uses. A total of 8 project design documents (PDD) of A/R CDM project activities have been accepted by the Executive Board and registered under the Kyoto Protocol of the UNFCCC. Some of the problems with A/R CDM project activities include the planting of large scale monoculture plantations, the planting of exotic species, and impact on the hydrology of the project areas. Future directions of A/R CDM project activities are here suggested, which are implementing mixed species in a plantation, using native species during reforestation activities, and counting the soil organic carbon pools among the carbon pools measured for carbon sequestration.

Soil organic carbon (SOC), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water footprint (WF) are the key indicators of environmental sustainability in agricultural systems. Increasing SOC while reducing GHG emissions and WF are effective measures to achieve high crop productivity with minimum environmental impact (i.e. a multi-pronged approach of sustainable intensification (SI) and climate-smart agriculture (CSA) to achieve food security). In conventional agricultural systems, intensive soil tillage and removal of crop residues can lead to increase negative environmental impact due to reduce SOC, GHG emission and high water consumption. Conservation agriculture (CA) based conservation tillage systems (CTS) with crop residue retention is often suggested as a resource conserving alternative to increase crop productivity without compromising soil health and environmental sustainability of cereal cropping systems. The environmental impact of CTS in terms of SOC, WF and GHG emissions nonetheless remains understudied in Bangladesh. A two-year field experiment was carried out to evaluate the impacts of CTS with retention of crop residue on SOC accumulation, GHG emission and WF in wheat cultivation of Bangladesh. In the experiment, CTS such as zero tillage (ZT) and minimum tillage (MT) were compared with the conventional tillage (CT) practice. Result observed that the SOC accumulation in the soil was 0.11 t ha−1, 0.97 t ha−1, and 1.3 t ha−1 for CT, MT and ZT practices, respectively. A life cycle GHG emission estimation by farm efficiency analysis tool (FEAT) calculated 1987, 1992 and 2028 kg CO2eq ha−1 for ZT, MT and CT practices, respectively. Among the studied tillage options, lowest WF was achieved by MT (570.05 m3 t−1) followed by ZT (578.56 m3 t−1) and CT (608.85 m3 t−1). Since the results are in favor of CTS, this study recommends MT and ZT practice to reduce negative environmental externalities in wheat cultivation in Bangladesh. In comparison between the methods, the MT, which retains crop residue (20 cm), and involves principles of CA, is suitable for both CSA and SI of wheat cultivation in Bangladesh due to its ability to increase SOC accumulation, prevent both water loss, and GHG emission without compromising yield.

There’s a market growing in the United States, but unlike markets that trade in tangible commodities, this one trades in the absence of something no one wants: greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Hundreds of companies make it possible for individuals, organizations, businesses, and even events such as rock music festivals to proclaim themselves carbon-neutral by paying someone else to reduce their emissions. Worried about your carbon footprint? No problem. For fees of US$2–50 per ton of “avoided emissions,” an offset provider will funnel your money into an activity or technology that keeps greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. The question is, are offset buyers really getting what they paid for?

Agricultural ecosystems generally contain less soil organic carbon (SOC) pool than their potential capacity because of the low return and high rate of mineralization of biosolids, and severe losses due to accelerated erosion and leaching. Conversion of natural to agricultural ecosystems usually causes depletion of 50 to 75 percent of the antecedent SOC pool, thereby creating a potential sink capacity of as much as 35 to 40 Mg C/ha. The depletion of SOC pool leads to decline in soil quality and resilience with attendant reduction in biomass productivity, decreased capacity to degrade and filter pollutants, increased risks of soil degradation by erosion and other processes, and increase in emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The magnitude of depletion of SOC pool is greater for soils of the tropics than temperate regions, and for farms which are resource-based and managed with low-input than those managed with science-based and judicious off-farm inputs. The SOC sequestration, increasing SOC pool through conversion to an appropriate land use and adoption of recommended management practices (RMPs), can reverse soil degradation trends, improve soil quality and resilience, increase biomass production and decrease emission of GHGs. A strong link exists between the labile fraction of SOC pool and soil biodiversity-the activity and species diversity of soil fauna (micro, meso and macro) and micro-organisms. Soil biodiversity is usually higher under pastures and planted fallow systems than under crops, and is likely to increase with adoption of conservation tillage and mulch farming, integrated nutrient management and manuring, mixed farming systems and integrated pest management (IPM) techniques. The gross rates of SOC sequestration through adoption of RMPs range from 400 to 800 kg/ha/y for cool and humid regions and 100 to 200 kg/ha/y for dry and warm climates. The potential of soil C sequestration in Brazil is estimated at about 50 Tg C/y. In addition, 60 Tg C/y emitted by erosion-induced mineralization can also be avoided through effective erosion control measures.

Executive Summary: The California Climate Action Registry, which was initially established in 2000 and began operation in Fall 2002, is a voluntary registry for recording annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The purpose of the Registry is to assist California businesses and organizations in their efforts to inventory and document emissions in order to establish a baseline and to document early actions to increase energy efficiency and decrease GHG emissions. The State of California has committed to use its ''best efforts'' to ensure that entities that establish GHG emissions baselines and register their emissions will receive ''appropriate consideration under any future international, federal, or state regulatory scheme relating to greenhouse gas emissions.'' Reporting of GHG emissions involves documentation of both ''direct'' emissions from sources that are under the entity's control and indirect emissions controlled by others. Electricity generated by an off-site power source is consider ed to be an indirect GHG emission and is required to be included in the entity's report. Registry participants include businesses, non-profit organizations, municipalities, state agencies, and other entities. Participants are required to register the GHG emissions of all operations in California, and are encouraged to report nationwide. For the first three years of participation, the Registry only requires the reporting of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, although participants are encouraged to report the remaining five Kyoto Protocol GHGs (CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs, and SF6). After three years, reporting of all six Kyoto GHG emissions is required. The enabling legislation for the Registry (SB 527) requires total GHG emissions to be registered and requires reporting of ''industry-specific metrics'' once such metrics have been adopted by the Registry. The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) was asked to provide technical assistance to the California Energy Commission (Energy Commission) related to the Registry in three areas: (1) assessing the availability and usefulness of industry-specific metrics, (2) evaluating various methods for establishing baselines for calculating GHG emissions reductions related to specific actions taken by Registry participants, and (3) establishing methods for calculating electricity CO2 emission factors. The third area of research was completed in 2002 and is documented in Estimating Carbon Dioxide Emissions Factors for the California Electric Power Sector (Marnay et al., 2002). This report documents our findings related to the first areas of research. For the first area of research, the overall objective was to evaluate the metrics, such as emissions per economic unit or emissions per unit of production that can be used to report GHG emissions trends for potential Registry participants. This research began with an effort to identify methodologies, benchmarking programs, inventories, protocols, and registries that u se industry-specific metrics to track trends in energy use or GHG emissions in order to determine what types of metrics have already been developed. The next step in developing industry-specific metrics was to assess the availability of data needed to determine metric development priorities. Berkeley Lab also determined the relative importance of different potential Registry participant categories in order to asses s the availability of sectoral or industry-specific metrics and then identified industry-specific metrics in use around the world. While a plethora of metrics was identified, no one metric that adequately tracks trends in GHG emissions while maintaining confidentiality of data was identified. As a result of this review, Berkeley Lab recommends the development of a GHG intensity index as a new metric for reporting and tracking GHG emissions trends.Such an index could provide an industry-specific metric for reporting and tracking GHG emissions trends to accurately reflect year to year changes while protecting proprietary data. This GHG intensity index changes while protecting proprietary data. This GHG intensity index would provide Registry participants with a means for demonstrating improvements in their energy and GHG emissions per unit of production without divulging specific values. For the second research area, Berkeley Lab evaluated various methods used to calculate baselines for documentation of energy consumption or GHG emissions reductions, noting those that use industry-specific metrics. Accounting for actions to reduce GHGs can be done on a project-by-project basis or on an entity basis. Establishing project-related baselines for mitigation efforts has been widely discussed in the context of two of the so-called ''flexible mechanisms'' of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Kyoto Protocol) Joint Implementation (JI) and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

Investigations on temporal and spatial variation of slope-scale SOC erosion and deposition

As if Kyoto mattered: The clean development mechanism and transportation

GHG emissions, GDP growth and the Kyoto Protocol: A revisit of Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis

International carbon offset schemes allow industrialized countries and private entities to offset domestic greenhouse gas emissions by financing climate change mitigation projects in the developing world. Large multinational corporations profit from the sale of surplus credits and carbon derivatives on the international carbon market. The Clean Development Mechanism is a compliance-offset scheme established by the Kyoto Protocol and administered by the Clean Development Mechanism Executive Board. Despite the mechanism’s stated objective that projects contribute to sustainable development, corporate investors pursue low-cost emission reductions while imposing a range of environmental and socioeconomic costs on developing countries. Poorly implemented projects damage local biodiversity and displace vulnerable communities. In spite of these concerns, the parties to the Kyoto Protocol are currently considering the proposal for a Clean Development Mechanism appeals procedure. The proposal, if implemented in its current form, would favor project developers by allowing them to appeal adverse decisions of the Executive Board. This Article presents an empirical critique of the Clean Development Mechanism’s regulatory framework, focusing on access to information, public participation, environmental impact assessment, and access to justice. It argues for strengthened procedural requirements that would boost the mechanism’s contribution to sustainable development and would enable non-governmental organizations to adequately scrutinize projects. The parties to the Kyoto Protocol should also grant local stakeholders and non-governmental organizations standing to appeal the registration of projects and the issuance of carbon credits to the impending Clean Development Mechanism Appellate Body. Without such reforms, the United Nations will continue to subsidize the destruction of biological diversity and the marginalization of the poorest communities in the developing world in the name of climate change mitigation.

Catalytic process reduces N2O emissions at Thai caprolactam plant

"Kyoto Protocol" came into force on the February 16th, 2005. It introduced rules on the responsibilities of reducing greenhouse gas emission so as to alleviate and deal with problems caused by climate change. Among the three fulfillment mechanisms in "Kyoto Protocol", the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is the only one related to developing countries. As one of the most important developing countries in the world, it is urgent for China to make rational use of the CDM to support its high-speed economic development. At this point, nation-scale carbon related data are critical. This paper introduced the acquisition of soil, vegetation and land use/land cover data at a large scale using remotely sensed data and the simulation of carbon sink/source by means of ecosystem models. Remotely sensed data play an important role in the extraction of qualitative and quantitative information for CDM related researches and activities.

Greenhouse gas contributions and mitigation potential of agriculture in the central USA

Canada and the European Union are among the io largest emitters of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for two and 14 percent respectively of global carbon dioxide emissions. Both have large environmental communities and strong environmental regulatory capacities, and both are parties to most major multilateral environmental agreements. The European Union pushed strongly for the ratification of the Kyoto protocol after the United States pulled out of the agreement in 2001, threatening the future of the regime. Canada, which had been one of the first countries to sign the Kyoto protocol, joined the EU in ratifying it in 2002.Despite these similarities, Canada and the EU in recent years have had very different experiences with climate policy implementation and have taken substantially different positions towards the establishment of postKyoto climate reduction goals. Canada committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by six percent of 1990 levels by 2012. The EU-15 (that is, the 15 members of the European Community at the time the Kyoto protocol was formulated) committed to an eight-percent reduction over the same time frame.The EU-15 are well on track to meeting their Kyoto protocol target and could even surpass it. At the end of 2008, greenhouse gas emissions in the EU-15 were 6.9 percent below 1990 base year emissions. The remaining cuts that need to be made can be achieved through a combination of planned domestic mitigation measures and reliance on the Kyoto flexibility mechanisms (emissions trading, joint implementation, and the clean development mechanism).Future EU emission targets are based on the EU-27 membership. In late 2007, the EU set a target to reduce EU-27 greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent of 1990 levels by 2020, independent of other country actions in the international climate negotiations. The EU has stated it will move to a 30-percent reduction target if other countries take comparable action. The EU-27 are also making progress on their 20-percent reduction goal. Emissions in 2008 were 11.3 percent below 1990 levels.1In contrast, Canada is far from meeting its Kyoto emissions reduction target and has set a weak goal for 2020. Canadian emissions were 24.1 percent higher at the end of 2008 than in 1990, or 31.5 percent above the Canadian Kyoto target. To put this into perspective, US emissions were 14 percent higher in 2008 than in 1990.2 Canadian emissions have been growing faster than those of any other G8 country. At the Copenhagen climate conference in December 2009, Canada set a new climate target: a 17-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, relative to 2005 emission levels.3 The World Resources Institute calculated that this is equivalent to a three-percent increase in emissions over 1990 levels, or a 19-percent increase when land use, land use change, and forestry measures are included in the calculation.4The Conservative minority government that has been in power since 2006 has questioned the Kyoto protocol's fairness, Canada's ability to meet its target, and the economic impact that mitigation efforts required by Kyoto would have on the economy.5 In November 2009, in the run-up to the Copenhagen climate convention, the Canadian senate defeated a bill introduced by the opposition that called for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent of 1990 levels.6What explains the differences in Canadian and European approaches to climate change and are the differences really as large as these figures suggest? Clearly, at the aggregate level, the EU has outperformed Canada. Yet when the performance of Canadian provinces and EU member-states is considered, the picture is more nuanced. Both within Canada and the EU there are substantial differences among provinces/member-states in their greenhouse gas performance and support for strong climate policies. This article compares the opportunities and constraints that federalism places on Canada and the EU in terms of their climate policymaking. …

Sri Lankan policy perspectives on the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the Kyoto Protocol

Oil palm crops are expanding rapidly in the tropics, with implications for the global carbon cycle. Understanding the carbon dynamics of oil palm is important for maximising organic matter content of soils and minimising greenhouse gas emissions of plantations. In a series of laboratory and field experiments the nature of the oil palm carbon cycle is described for a group of plantations in Papua New Guinea. In this work, oil palm soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks were found to be highly stable and SOC stocks and input/output fluxes were highly spatially variable. Where oil palm was planted on former grassland, unplanted areas of grassland and oil palm had average SOC stocks of 10.7 and 12.0 kg m⁻² respectively to a depth of 1.5 m. In the 0–0.05 m depth interval, 0.79 kg m⁻² of SOC was gained from oil palm inputs over 25 years and approximately the same amount of the original grass-derived SOC was lost. For the whole soil profile (0–1.5 m), 3.4 kg m⁻² of SOC was gained from oil palm inputs, with no significant losses of grass-derived SOC. The grass-derived SOC stocks were more resistant to mineralisation than reported in other studies. Black carbon produced in grassfires could partially but not fully account for the persistence of the original SOC stocks. Oil palm-derived SOC accumulated more slowly where soil nitrogen contents were high. Forest soils in the same region had smaller carbon stocks than the grasslands. In the majority of cases, conversion of grassland to oil palm plantations in this region resulted in net sequestration of soil organic carbon. Tree-scale spatial distribution of soil carbon inputs and outputs in a mature oil palm plantation were spatially correlated at the tree scale (r2 0.605), with a slope of 1:1. However, outputs were higher than inputs at all locations, with a mean overall output of 7.25 and input of 3.01 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹. Frond-, root- and groundcover-related inputs constituted 60, 36 and 4% of estimated inputs, respectively so frond inputs mainly controlled the spatial variability. The spatial correlation of carbon inputs and outputs suggests that mineralisation rate is controlled by the amount rather than nature or input depth of the additions. A spatially uniform net carbon loss was attributed to errors in root-related input estimates. The laboratory study confirmed that carbon turnover for oil palm soils was slow, 6% of the soil carbon was mineralised over the first year of incubation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that fractions described in literature as resistant to decay contained more lignin or other aromatic carbon forms than labile fractions. Biochemical recalcitrance and physico-chemical protection controlled turnover rates of intermediate stability organic carbon and protection appeared to be related to interactions between organic matter and poorly crystalline Al and Fe oxides. These findings help in understanding of the pathways and rates of carbon cycling in oil palm systems.