Changing the way we produce food can make a big difference in mitigating climate change, can help farmers to adapt and to become more resilient, and can contribute to biodiversity protection. Organic farming offers a systemic approach for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and increasing soil carbon sequestration while sustaining healthy soils and protecting biodiversity. Organic consumes less energy and reduces GHG emissions

• Instead of being dependent on external fossil-fuel intensive fertilizer or pesticide inputs, organic farming relies on establishing closed nutrient cycles and minimizing nitrogen losses. This can reduce global agricultural GHG emissions by around 20%.

• Refraining from synthetic fertilizer use reduces nitrous oxide emissions from soil by 40% per hectare in organic systems.

• Animals in organic systems have access to free range areas, are allowed to graze as much as possible and 60% of the feed has to come from the farm or the same region. The reduced number of animals and grassland-based systems reduce emissions and improve carbon stocks in soil.

• Organic agriculture often uses improved manure management such as manure composting which can reduce nitrous oxide and methane emissions from manure by 50% and 70% respectively.

• Organic agriculture has a higher energy efficiency and a lower energy use per hectare. It consumes around 15% less energy per unit produced compared to conventional agriculture