An exploratory analysis on Agritech policies, innovations and funding for climate change mitigation

Abstract

Climate change mitigation technologies (CCMT) have significantly been developed for the last decade to mitigate the consequences of mega global challenges, such as climate risk and threatened food security. International agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement are the driving framework for developing policies and fostering research and innovation. However, the proportionality of technological innovation, funding, and policy development is very skewed towards energy-intensive sectors like transport, industry and energy and ignores sectors like agriculture and waste. This paper aims to explore three dimensions that drive the development of CCMT in the agriculture sector: innovation, policy and funding. We have used a mixed-method approach where we have collected open-source data, using text mining techniques for filtering CCMT and agriculture concerning regulations and projects, and applied a descriptive analysis. The findings of this study show that there is no precise alignment of the three dimensions and confirm that only 2.3% of the EU financial contribution goes to the agriculture sector. Moreover, most of the climate change policies or regulations are intended for energy-intensive sectors and not explicitly focused on agriculture. Finally, the analysis reveals that the constricted development of CCMT in the agricultural sector is not only due to the limited financial investment but also due to conflicting policies, decisions, and regulatory cooperation.