Climate Change Mitigation Objectives Research Articles

Could Cohesion Policy push EU climate efforts?

ABSTRACTThe main purpose of this article is to evaluate the extent to which the Cohesion Policy of the EU contributes to its climate change mitigation effort. While climate change mitigation and the EU Cohesion Policy have been both thoroughly studied theoretically, the novelty of the present article lies in an analysis of their mutual relationship. Also, a unique feature of this research is an analysis of the contribution of the Cohesion Policy to climate change mitigation over a period of 20 years, including a comparison of the three last programming periods (2000–2006, 2007–2013 and 2014–2020). The results of this research suggest that, while the beginning of the new millennium saw the Cohesion Policy neglecting the issue of climate change mitigation, the current programming period (2014–2020) placed it among its key priorities. This conclusion is supported by a comprehensive set of data on five selected indicators. This article also displays the results against the perspective of the overall climate change mitigation objectives of the EU.POLICY RELEVANCEThe present article shows how a policy, which used to be considered rather distant from climate change, progressively adopted climate change mitigation as one of its principal objectives. As such, it provides a practical guidance on the integration of climate change mitigation in other policy areas, which may be applied not only in a supranational organisation but also on a national, regional or local level.

Potential of agroforestry systems in carbon sequestration in India

Various institutions are working for lowering the CO2 concentration through different strategies like reduction in energy use, developing low or no-carbon fuel technologies, CO2 sequestration by forestry/agroforestry and engineering techniques. Among all the techniques, agroforestry was recognized as one of the important means to reduce CO2 emissions as well as enhancing carbon sinks. Agroforestry provides unique opportunity to combine the twin objectives of climate change adaptation and mitigation. In India, area under agroforestry was estimated at 25.3 m ha, which can further be increased up to a considerable level. Recent studies under various agroforestry systems in diverse ecological conditions emphasized that agroforestry systems increase and store carbon stocks in above ground biomass and in soil and also has an important role in increasing livelihood security and reducing vulnerability to climate change. In India carbon sequestration potential of agroforestry systems is estimated between 0.25 - 76.55 and 0.01 to 0.60 Mg C/ha/yr for tree and crop component, respectively. The contribution of agroforestry in soil carbon sequestration varied between 0.003 to 3.98 Mg C/ha/yr. The total C sequestered in each component differs greatly depending on region, types of -species, -system, -site quality, and previous land-use. The review indicates that agroforestry systems in addition to accumulate and sequester carbon, provide an excellent opportunity to increase the tree cover to a level of 33% of the total geographical area of the country as desired by the National Forest Policy.

REDD+ and climate smart agriculture in landscapes: A case study in Vietnam using companion modelling

Finding land use strategies that merge land-based climate change mitigation measures and adaptation strategies is still an open issue in climate discourse. This article explores synergies and trade-offs between REDD+, a scheme that focuses mainly on mitigation through forest conservation, with “Climate Smart Agriculture”, an approach that emphasizes adaptive agriculture. We introduce a framework for ex-ante assessment of the impact of land management policies and interventions and for quantifying their impacts on land-based mitigation and adaptation goals. The framework includes a companion modelling (ComMod) process informed by interviews with policymakers, local experts and local farmers. The ComMod process consists of a Role-Playing Game with local farmers and an Agent Based Model. The game provided a participatory means to develop policy and climate change scenarios. These scenarios were then used as inputs to the Agent Based Model, a spatially explicit model to simulate landscape dynamics and the associated carbon emissions over decades. We applied the framework using as case study a community in central Vietnam, characterized by deforestation for subsistence agriculture and cultivation of acacias as a cash crop. The main findings show that the framework is useful in guiding consideration of local stakeholders' goals, needs and constraints. Additionally the framework provided beneficial information to policymakers, pointing to ways that policies might be re-designed to make them better tailored to local circumstances and therefore more effective in addressing synergistically climate change mitigation and adaptation objectives.

Mix of First- and Second-Generation Biofuels to Meet Multiple Environmental Objectives: Implications for Policy at a Watershed Scale

Biofuel mandates are being widely used by countries to achieve multiple objectives of energy security and climate change mitigation. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in the US specifies arbitrarily chosen volumetric targets for different types of biofuels in the US based on their greenhouse gas intensity only. Cellulosic biofuels from high yielding energy crops like miscanthus have the potential to co-generate multiple environmental impacts, including reducing nitrate runoff, being a sink for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and providing a given volume of biofuel with less diversion of land from food crop production than corn ethanol, but at a significantly higher cost. This paper quantifies the tradeoffs between profitability, food and fuel production, GHG emissions and nitrate runoff reduction with different types of biofuels in the Sangamon watershed in Illinois and analyzes the optimal mix of biofuels as well as the policies that should supplement the mandate to achieve multiple environmental outcomes. We find that a two-thirds share of cellulosic biofuel in the mandated level could reduce nitrate run-off by 20% while reducing GHG emissions by 88–100% but would reduce profits by 15–27% depending on whether a GHG policy or a Nitrate policy is used relative to the case where the mandate is met by corn ethanol alone. Additionally, the ratio of corn stover to miscanthus used to produce cellulosic biofuels is higher under a GHG policy compared to a Nitrate policy that achieves the same level of nitrate reduction. Our results show that the optimal mix of different types of biofuels and the policy to induce it depend on the environmental objectives and the tradeoffs that society is willing to make between low cost energy security, food production and various environmental benefits.

Regional cooperation in widening energy access and also mitigating climate change: Current programs and future potential

Access to energy can significantly contribute to the development of the living standards of the energy poor. Also if the provision of access to energy is sustainable, i.e. via renewable energy sources, there is an added benefit of contributing to mitigation of climate change. Currently, the percentage of population with access to energy varies significantly between countries and across regions. This is due to the nature of national socio-economic situations and energy resource availability in differing settings. This article addresses issues and hindrances to energy access in regional contexts and also examines, in particular, the prospects of how regional cooperation initiatives linked with climate change mitigation objectives could assist in widening energy access. Existing relevant regional cooperation initiatives that may be upscaled or used as models to widen access to modern energy services are evaluated. Findings are that regional cooperation initiatives linked with climate change mitigation can potentially facilitate widening energy access. However, in order to realise such potential, synergies from regional cooperation that are indirectly linked to energy and wider climate change mitigation programs should be harnessed. Recommendations are made for development of sustainable energy programs in energy deprived regions that will also mitigate climate change impacts.

An overview of organic agriculture: A potential strategy for climate change mitigation

Indian agriculture has changed considerably in the past several decades. Since post green revolution era, Indian farming basically shifted from the conventional farming system to towards the mechanized farming system and relies heavily on agricultural inputs such as chemical fertilizers, pesticides, heavy farm machineries and irrigation, which are dependent on fossil fuels. Large scale use of these inputs also contributed in emission of greenhouse gases which are mainly responsible for global warming and consequently climate change. Agriculture plays a unique role in the climate change mitigation because of its potential to lower greenhouse gases emissions through carbon sequestration. Organic agriculture is being considered as one of the appropriate farming systems that could serve the twin objectives of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Compared to conventional agriculture, organic agriculture is considered to be more energy efficient and effective both in reducing green house gases emission mainly due to the less use of chemical fertilizers and fossil fuel and enhancing the soil organic carbon. Promotion and adaptation of organic farming in developing country like India can serve as mitigation strategy of climate change.

Implications of emissions timing on the cost‐effectiveness of greenhouse gas mitigation strategies: application to forest bioenergy systems

AbstractConventional cost‐effectiveness calculations ignore the implications of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions timing and thus may not properly inform decision‐makers in the efficient allocation of resources to mitigate climate change. To begin to address this disconnect with climate change science, we modify the conventional cost‐effectiveness approach to account for emissions timing. GHG emissions flows occurring over time are translated into an ‘Equivalent Present Emission’ based on radiative forcing, enabling a comparison of system costs and emissions on a consistent present time basis. We apply this ‘Present Cost‐Effectiveness’ method to case studies of biomass‐based electricity generation (biomass co‐firing with coal, biomass cogeneration) to evaluate implications of forest carbon trade‐offs on the cost‐effectiveness of emission reductions. Bioenergy production from forest biomass can reduce forest carbon stocks, an immediate emissions source that contributes to atmospheric greenhouse gases. Forest carbon impacts thereby lessen emission reductions in the near‐term relative to the assumption of biomass ‘carbon neutrality’, resulting in higher costs of emission reductions when emissions timing is considered. In contrast, conventional cost‐effectiveness approaches implicitly evaluate strategies over an infinite analytical time horizon, underestimating nearer term emissions reduction costs and failing to identify pathways that can most efficiently contribute to climate change mitigation objectives over shorter time spans (e.g. up to 100 years). While providing only a simple representation of the climate change implications of emissions timing, the Present Cost‐Effectiveness method provides a straightforward approach to assessing the cost‐effectiveness of emission reductions associated with any climate change mitigation strategy where future GHG reductions require significant initial capital investment or increase near‐term emissions. Timing is a critical factor in determining the attractiveness of any investment; accounting for emissions timing can better inform decisions related to the merit of alternative resource uses to meet near‐, mid‐, and long‐term climate change mitigation objectives.

Social life cycle assessment of biodiesel production at three levels: a literature review and development needs

Abstract Assessment of social impacts of products and services has gained increasing interest in society. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool developed to estimate the impacts of products and services from cradle to grave. Traditionally LCA has focused on environmental impacts, but recently approaches for social life cycle assessment (SLCA) have also been developed. Most of them fairly address social performances of business, but the aim of this paper is to analyse the possibilities and development needs in the complementary approach, which is the evaluation of social impacts in LCA. We review the field in general and take a closer look at the empirical case of biodiesel production, which is a timely topic globally in view of the climate change mitigation objectives. The analysis is carried out at three levels – company, regional, and state level. Despite active development in the field of SLCA, we conclude that in many cases it is not yet possible to carry out a comprehensive SLCA. Finally, we outline lines of research that would further improve the methodological and empirical basis of SLCA at various levels of decision-making.

Carbon Sequestration Potential of Agroforestry Systems in India

Forestry has been recognized as a means to reduce CO2 emissions as well as enhancing carbon sinks. Forests are a large sink of carbon and their role in carbon cycles is well recognized. This paper reviews the role of agroforestry systems in carbon mitigation. Agroforestry provides a unique opportunity to combine the twin objectives of climate change adaptation and mitigation. It has the ability to enhance the resilience of the system for coping with the adverse impacts of climate change. Agroforestry systems offer important opportunities of creating synergies between both adaptation and mitigation actions. Various authors have carried out studies to estimate carbon stocks in different agroforestry systems in India. Agroforestry systems have the potential to provide significant mitigation options but they require proper management that influences the amount of carbon sequestered. The role of agroforestry practices in climate change mitigation in India can be realized to its full potential by overcoming various technical, financial and institutional barriers.

Greenhouse gas emission reduction options for cities: Finding the “Coincidence of Agendas” between local priorities and climate change mitigation objectives

Cities are the major contributors to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. They account for about 75% of global energy consumption and up to 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions. With the ongoing rapid increase in urban population, expansion of middle class in urban centers in developing countries, and availability of cheaper vehicles such as Tata Nano and Bajaj RE60 in India, the demand for energy and associated emissions from cities are expected to grow rapidly. Though cities are in a better position to mitigate climate change, it does not necessary mean that there is a willingness on their part to capitalize on these mitigation opportunities. Climate change mitigation is not the priority for them because they face a number of competing priorities including local economic growth and development and service delivery. This paper suggests a range of policy tools that can help cities achieve both local priorities as well as reduce emissions, including GHGs. The suggested policies will be effective when used synergistically.

Estimates of carbon stored in harvested wood products from the United States forest service northern region, 1906-2010

BackgroundGlobal forests capture and store significant amounts of CO2 through photosynthesis. When carbon is removed from forests through harvest, a portion of the harvested carbon is stored in wood products, often for many decades. The United States Forest Service (USFS) and other agencies are interested in accurately accounting for carbon flux associated with harvested wood products (HWP) to meet greenhouse gas monitoring commitments and climate change adaptation and mitigation objectives. This paper uses the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) production accounting approach and the California Forest Project Protocol (CFPP) to estimate HWP carbon storage from 1906 to 2010 for the USFS Northern Region, which includes forests in northern Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, and eastern Washington.ResultsBased on the IPCC approach, carbon stocks in the HWP pool were increasing at one million megagrams of carbon (MgC) per year in the mid 1960s, with peak cumulative storage of 28 million MgC occurring in 1995. Net positive flux into the HWP pool over this period is primarily attributable to high harvest levels in the mid twentieth century. Harvest levels declined after 1970, resulting in less carbon entering the HWP pool. Since 1995, emissions from HWP at solid waste disposal sites have exceeded additions from harvesting, resulting in a decline in the total amount of carbon stored in the HWP pool. The CFPP approach shows a similar trend, with 100-year average carbon storage for each annual Northern Region harvest peaking in 1969 at 937,900 MgC, and fluctuating between 84,000 and 150,000 MgC over the last decade.ConclusionsThe Northern Region HWP pool is now in a period of negative net annual stock change because the decay of products harvested between 1906 and 2010 exceeds additions of carbon to the HWP pool through harvest. However, total forest carbon includes both HWP and ecosystem carbon, which may have increased over the study period. Though our emphasis is on the Northern Region, we provide a framework by which the IPCC and CFPP methods can be applied broadly at sub-national scales to other regions, land management units, or firms.

Balancing climate change mitigation and environmental protection interests in the EU Directive on carbon capture and storage

The EU Climate and Energy Package highlights the potential contradictions between the climate change imperative of reducing GHGs emissions and the importance to maintain environmental integrity. While the package supports climate change mainstreaming, it remains to be seen to what extent it succeeds in achieving internal environmental integration between climate change mitigation and other environmentprotection objectives. Directive 2009/31/EC on the capture and geological storage of carbon dioxide (hereinafter the CCS Directive) offers a paradigmatic example of this potential conflict. One of the main regulatory challenges arising from the CCS Directive relates to finding the proper balance between the different interests involved and the not-fully-consistent objectives of environmental protection, climate change mitigation, and energy security. The present article will discuss this regulatory challenge and examine how the CCS Directive’s regulatory framework for CCS permits a combination of the various interests at stake and the giving of proper weight to concerns about environmental protection. The role that the precautionary principle in conjunction with the proportionality principle may have in balancing climate change mitigation and environment-protection interests will be considered.

Balancing climate change mitigation and environmental protection interests in the EU Directive on carbon capture and storage

The EU Climate and Energy Package highlights the potential contradictions between the climate change imperative of reducing GHGs emissions and the importance to maintain environmental integrity. While the package supports climate change mainstreaming, it remains to be seen to what extent it succeeds in achieving internal environmental integration between climate change mitigation and other environmentprotection objectives. Directive 2009/31/EC on the capture and geological storage of carbon dioxide (hereinafter the CCS Directive) offers a paradigmatic example of this potential conflict. One of the main regulatory challenges arising from the CCS Directive relates to finding the proper balance between the different interests involved and the not-fully-consistent objectives of environmental protection, climate change mitigation, and energy security. The present article will discuss this regulatory challenge and examine how the CCS Directive’s regulatory framework for CCS permits a combination of the various interests at stake and the giving of proper weight to concerns about environmental protection. The role that the precautionary principle in conjunction with the proportionality principle may have in balancing climate change mitigation and environment-protection interests will be considered.

China’s Low Carbon Transformation: Drivers, Challenges, and Paths

National climate change mitigation actions and objectives could be taken from both active and passive considerations. China has multiple objectives to develop a low carbon economy and to decrease carbon dioxide emission per unit of GDP, including mitigation of global climate change, security of energy supply, promotion of sustainable development (environmental protection, poverty alleviation, employment and natural conservation). In this regard, China's actions are more at the active side than from a pressure outside. However, there are some suspicions in the international society about whether China has the determination and efficiency in mitigation actions. The author demonstrates that China's low carbon transformation is largely driven from domestic considerations. For china the question is not to make the transformation into a low carbon economy, but how to accelerate the process. In the meantime, low carbon transformation in China has to face many serious challenges. A dilemma exists that a higher carbon may actually help raise necessary resources for promoting low carbon solutions. Understanding and international cooperation are essential for China's low carbon transformation.

The Economic Drivers and Environmental Outcomes of the Clean Development Mechanism in Vietnam

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is the principal source of carbon offsets in the global market, and is intended to be a key driver of sustainable development and technical transformation in developing countries. The distribution of CDM projects by country has been skewed, with over 75% of registered projects having taken place in just four countries, namely China, India, Brazil and Mexico. A change in this pattern of development may be occurring, however, as smaller developing countries become increasingly active in the carbon market. An example of this is the rapid rise in the number of CDM projects based in Vietnam since early 2009. This paper investigates factors contributing to the growth of CDM projects in Vietnam and describes some of the key features of the projects that have been developed. Hydropower projects are found to dominate new CDM project development in Vietnam. It is suggested that CDM project development in Vietnam may be a tool to support domestic energy security rather than being primarily driven by the intended climate change mitigation and sustainable development objectives of the CDM. It is also possible that Vietnam is emulating the development strategy of China, and may serve as a model for other members of the Least Developed Countries group. A country’s domestic policy choices are critical in determining its attractiveness as a host country for offset projects, and Vietnam’s policy strategies are successfully harnessing synergies between domestic agendas and regulated foreign markets.

The hesitant emergence of low carbon technologies in the UK: the micro-CHP innovation system

Micro combined-heat-and-power (micro-CHP) technology has potential to contribute significantly to the UK's climate change strategy. This study applies a technological innovation systems (TIS) analysis to the UK domestic micro-CHP sector to better understand the dynamics of this emerging technology, identify policy options for enhanced system development, while also assessing the effectiveness of the TIS framework as an analytical tool. Interviews with key system actors are used to understand system functions, enabling an analysis of system development over time in terms of inter-functional relations, and a brief comparison with the Dutch micro-CHP system. Specific policy recommendations are made, including clarification of government ‘renewable’ vs ‘low-carbon’ climate change mitigation objectives, establishing dedicated targets, incentives and supports for adoption, installation and industry representation. A critique of the TIS framework highlights the dangers of selectivity with regard to key functional patterns, underdevelopment of consumer influences, and insularity with respect to wider influences on innovation.

Making climate instruments work for sustainable transport in developing countries

AbstractIn order to meet long‐term climate change mitigation objectives, emissions cuts are required in all regions across the globe and in all sectors, including transport. In financing this effort, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) are until now the only international climate policy instruments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that provide incentives for emissions reductions in developing countries. More recently, the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) was established. In this paper, we show that the impact of these financing instruments on transport has been very limited, due to methodological difficulties, a data‐intensive monitoring process and the limited funding available. We argue that the transport sector is not likely to play a significant role in the continuation of a carbon credit offsetting scheme, unless these methodological requirements are simplified and significantly more funding is available.In the post‐2012 climate regime, there may be substantial international funding available in addition to existing credit schemes and international funds, which could be channeled through nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs). This can provide new and better opportunities for sustainable transport in developing countries. We propose a framework for NAMAs, including types of policies and measures, measurement, reporting and verification of the actions, and an institutional and financial structure. We conclude that climate funding needs to be aligned closely with domestic and multilateral development finance flows in order to make a difference for sustainable transport.

China’s Low Carbon Transformation: drivers, challenges, and paths

National climate change mitigation actions and objectives could be taken from both active and passive considerations. China has multiple objectives to develop a low carbon economy and to decrease carbon dioxide emission per unit of GDP, including mitigation of global climate change, security of energy supply, promotion of sustainable development (environmental protection, poverty alleviation, employment and natural conservation). In this regard, China’s actions are more at the active side than from a pressure outside. However, there are some suspicions in the international society about whether China has the determination and efficiency in mitigation actions. The author demonstrates that China’s low carbon transformation is largely driven from domestic considerations. For China the question is not to make the transformation into a low carbon economy, but how to accelerate the process. In the meantime, low carbon transformation in China has to face many serious challenges. A dilemma exists that a higher carbon may actually help raise necessary resources for promoting low carbon solutions. Understanding and international cooperation are essential for China’s low carbon transformation.

Spatial and temporal land use and carbon stock changes in Uganda: implications for a future REDD strategy

Using a map overlay procedure in a Geographical Information System environment, we quantify and map major land use and land cover (LULC) change patterns in Uganda period 1990–2005 and determine whether the transitions were random or systematic. The analysis reveals that the most dominant systematic land use change processes were deforestation (woodland to subsistence farmland—3.32%); forest degradation (woodland to bushland (4.01%) and grassland (4.08%) and bush/grassland conversion to cropland (5.5%) all resulting in a net reduction in forests (6.1%). Applying an inductive approach based on logistic regression and trend analyses of observed changes we analyzed key drivers of LULC change. Significant predictors of forest land use change included protection status, market access, poverty, slope, soil quality and presence/absence of a stream network. Market access, poverty and population all decreased the log odds of retaining forests. In addition, poverty also increased the likelihood of degradation. An increase in slope decreased the likelihood of deforestation. Using the stock change and gain/loss approaches we estimated the change in forest carbon stocks and emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. Results indicate a negligible increase in forest carbon stocks (3,260 t C yr-1) in the period 1990–2005 when compared to the emissions due to deforestation and forest degradation (2.67 million t C yr-1). In light of the dominant forest land use change patterns, the drivers and change in carbon stocks, we discuss options which could be pursued to implement a future national REDD plus strategy which considers livelihood, biodiversity and climate change mitigation objectives.

LCA of a biorefinery concept producing bioethanol, bioenergy, and chemicals from switchgrass

The availability of fossil resources is predicted to decrease in the near future: they are a non-renewable source, they cause environmental concerns, and they are subjected to price instability. Utilization of biomass as raw material in a biorefinery is a promising alternative to fossil resources for production of energy carriers and chemicals, as well as for mitigating climate change and enhancing energy security. This paper focuses on a biorefinery concept which produces bioethanol, bioenergy, and biochemicals from switchgrass, a lignocellulosic crop. Results are compared with a fossil reference system producing the same products/services from fossil sources. The biorefinery system is investigated using a Life Cycle Assessment approach, which takes into account all the input and output flows occurring along the production chain. This paper elaborates on methodological key issues like land use change effects and soil N2O emissions, whose influence on final outcomes is weighted in a sensitivity analysis. Since climate change mitigation and energy security are the two most important driving forces for biorefinery development, the assessment has a focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and cumulative primary energy demand (distinguished into fossil and renewable), but other environmental impact categories (e.g., abiotic depletion, eutrophication, etc.) are assessed as well. The use of switchgrass in a biorefinery offsets GHG emissions and reduces fossil energy demand: GHG emissions are decreased by 79% and about 80% of non-renewable energy is saved. Soil C sequestration is responsible for a large GHG benefit (65 kt CO2-eq/a, for the first 20 years), while switchgrass production is the most important contributor to total GHG emissions of the system. If compared with the fossil reference system, the biorefinery system releases more N2O emissions, while both CO2 and CH4 emissions are reduced. The investigation of the other impact categories revealed that the biorefinery has higher impacts in two categories: acidification and eutrophication. Results are mainly affected by raw material (i.e., switchgrass) production and land use change effects. Steps which mainly influence the production of switchgrass are soil N2O emissions, manufacture of fertilizers (especially those nitrogen-based), processing (i.e., pelletizing and drying), and transport. Even if the biorefinery chain has higher primary energy demand than the fossil reference system, it is mainly based on renewable energy (i.e., the energy content of the feedstock): the provision of biomass with sustainable practices is then a crucial point to ensure a renewable energy supply to biorefineries. This biorefinery system is an effective option for mitigating climate change, reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels, and enhancing cleaner production chains based on local and renewable resources. However, this assessment evidences that determination of the real GHG and energy balance (and all other environmental impacts in general) is complex, and a certain degree of uncertainty is always present in final results. Ranges in final results can be even more widened by applying different combinations of biomass feedstocks, conversion routes, fuels, end-use applications, and methodological assumptions. This study demonstrated that the perennial grass switchgrass enhances carbon sequestration in soils if established on set-aside land, thus, considerably increasing the GHG savings of the system for the first 20 years after crop establishment. Given constraints in land resources and competition with food, feed, and fiber production, high biomass yields are extremely important in achieving high GHG emission savings, although use of chemical fertilizers to enhance plant growth can reduce the savings. Some strategies, aiming at simultaneously maintaining crop yield and reduce N fertilization application through alternative management, can be adopted. However, even if a reduction in GHG emissions is achieved, it should not be disregarded that additional environmental impacts (like acidification and eutrophication) may be caused. This aspect cannot be ignored by policy makers, even if they have climate change mitigation objectives as main goal.