THE ROLE OF IPCC ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AGRICULTURE

Abstract

Recognizing the pressing global problem of climate change, the IPCC was formed in 1988 as an apex source to holistically address the issue. It strives to critically congregate best scientific, technical and socio-economic data on global climate change to produce various papers and reports which become standard works of reference (UNEP, 2004). IPCC has contributed extensively to unleash the mitigation potential from the perspective of agriculture, correlating it with climate change policy, environmental quality and ultimately, sustainable development (Working group II, 2007). Agriculture lands form 40- 50% of the earth’s land surface and contribute to 10-12% of the Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this sector, by improved crop, soil, water, livestock and water management, the mitigation of climate change can be approached in a cost-effective way than other sectors. Hence this paper dwells into the significant role of IPCC to progress towards sustainable development in agriculture sector. It would discuss about how agriculture management activities would decrease GHG emissions and increase carbon sequestration (Technical group V, 2002). In the warming world, precipitation is skewed, sea level is rising, glaciers are melting, acidic levels in oceans are rising and dissolved oxygen in sea water is declining (IPCC, 2014). Hence major river floods are likely, which is a threat to the food production. This paper would highlight the need to limit effects of climate change to achieve sustainable development as the focus, and would further discuss social equity and poverty eradication. It would explore adaptation and mitigation methods to enumerate short and long-term goals to combat climate change from reinvented livestock and crop systems, beneficial land use changes, improved fertilizers and advanced technological perspectives (IPCC, 1990). It would enforce the learnings from IPCC’s contributions enumerating how agriculture must have a high synergy with sustainable development to address global climate change.