Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to land use changes such as converting forests to agricultural land have been decreasing over the past 20 years, a decline that has been counterbalanced by increased emissions - notably high in industrialized countries - from off-farm activities before and after food production according to a new study led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and published today in Environmental Resource Letters.

The report, "Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Food System: Building the Evidence Base", estimates that food-system emissions amounted to 16 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide or equivalents (CO2eq) in 2018, an 8 percent increase since 1990. They now represent 33 percent of all human-caused GHG emissions.

That, lead author Francesco Tubiello, a senior statistician and climate change specialist at FAO, highlights how the global food system represents a "larger GHG mitigation opportunity than previously estimated and one that cannot be ignored in efforts to achieve the Paris Agreement goals".

Governments around the world are pledging to reduce their GHG emissions and pursue carbon neutrality, and many have included mitigation targets for their agriculture sectors in their national plans. However, action in food and agriculture goes well beyond impacts on farms and ecosystems. Analyzing emissions trends through the broader lens of food systems offers additional insights and opens a range of possible solutions across the entire food production and consumption chain.