From Theory to Action – Agriculture’s call to implement MRV for accurate climate reporting

The agricultural sector contributes significantly to global GHG emissions. Accurate monitoring and mitigation of these emissions are critical for reducing the sector’s carbon footprint. There are significant challenges in implementing Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems, including a lack of farm-level data, technical capacity, and common methodologies. Progressing from Tier 1 to Tier 3 MRV systems for GHG reporting is gaining attention, where locally sourced data allows for the highest accuracy in emission estimates. Concerns prevail about the costs and past adjusting emission data interpretations.

Bangkok, Thailand – 24 October 2024: In today’s world, we measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the production of clothing, automobiles, and especially energy. When we engage in the topics of sustainability along the consumption chain of any commodity, nowadays there is no escape from thinking about our carbon footprint. Our economic activities either directly or indirectly produce emissions that fuel not only our engines but also our everyday commodities. It has been long known and debated that livestock farming produces GHG, such as the potent gas methane, and that measures need to be taken to reduce its carbon footprint. But this is old news and while being fully acknowledged and accounted for, livestock is not the only component of the food producing sector that is having an impact on emissions.

The crops we grow also produce greenhouse gases due to microbial processes in the soil. In fact, 31% of emissions globally are attributable to to our food systems . Rice production contributes between 8% and 14% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the agriculture sector. Emissions strongly depend on the way in which rice is cultivated . Methane is again the dominating gas which equates to 28 times the effect the…