Calculator of carbon emissions in agricultural production. - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Calculator of carbon emissions in agricultural production.How and why to use it?

Miguel Ángel Taboada, PhDINTA-CIRN-Institute of SoilsCONICET

¿What is a carbon calculator and what is it for?

The Carbon Footprint is calculated from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions emitted by an individual, organization, event or product. The calculation consists of collecting the data referring to the direct and indirect consumption of material inputs (eg Fertilizers) and energy, and translating them into equivalent CO₂ emissions using the “warming potential" of each gas.

CO₂

equivalent

= CO

2

+ (N

2

O * 290) + (CH

4

* 25)

Label that symbolizes the Carbon Footprint,in this case of fluid milk sold in a supermarket

Origin

of agricultural GHGco2

N

2

O

CH

4

1.

Fossil

fuels

2.

Industry

and

energy

generation

3.

Ruminants

and

paddy

soils

(

ponded rice)

Agricultural

soils and grazing animals

5.

Land use change and afforestation

What is carbon footprint related to and what are the factors to consider for its use?

Carbon footprint is related with other footprints: water footprint, energy footprint, life cycle analysis, giving rise to the concept of Environmental Footprint or Ecological Footprint.There is no agreement or requirement in terms of use or regulation. It is used in the marketing of some products (e.g. wines, dairy products, among others) in countries with progressive traceability standards.

Precautions for use: what happens in the chain of an exportable product?

GHG by crops and livestockN2O, CH4, CO2 by land use changes and energy comsumption.Out farmOut farm

GHG

by

inputs

production

(

eg

.

Fertilizers

,

pesticides

)

GHG

by industrial processesGHG

by national transportGHG

by marketing (packaging, waste management

, etc.)GHG by overseas transport

GRAIN CONDITIONING

OIL EXTRACTION AND REFINEMENTESTERIFICATIONFOSSIL FUELSENERGYLAND USE

CROP PROCESS

Fertilizers

Pesticides

seeds

SOYBEAN CROP

residues

INDUSTRIAL PROCESS

Moist

grain

Dry

grain

HexanE

flour

lecitine

glycerine

OIL

MethanolResidue emissionsCOMBUSTION

MES

“CRADDLE – HOME DOOR SYSTEM FOR BOFUELS

Simplified flow diagram of the life cycle of soybean biodiesel (soybean methyl ester-MES), taking into account the most widespread technologies in Argentina

(Piastrellini 2016).

No

agreement with respect N2O emissions by rhizodepositions in terms of inventory.

November

2009

August 2009

March 2009

Cosentino et al. 2013

trigo

maiz

soja

Alvarez

et al. 2012. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 84, 204-209.Manfredi (Córdoba):N2O emisions peak during growing season, with moist soil and high NO3..

No

influence

of

tillage

system

Emisiones de N2O desde los suelos

Cosentino et al. 2013. Hierarchy of factors driving N2O emissions in non-tilled soils under different crops. European J. Soil Science 64, 550-557.

%

diet (kcal)% footprint

Produced

foodFood soldFood waste

Landfill

Incineration

Compost

Anaerobic

digestion

Animal

food

Donation

Heating

,

electricity

Soil

recovery

Biogas, fertilizer

Human food

Animal food

Peat, carbon,Fuel oil,etc,Diesel,FertilizerGrains

, pelletsBread and derivates

Scenarios

of

waste

managements

Replaced

production

Adapted

from

de M.

Eriksson

et al. /

Journal

of

Cleaner

Production

93 (2015) 115-125

Summary

Increased use or consideration of different

types

of

footprints

:

carbon

,

nitrogen

,

hydric

,

life cycle analysis (LCA).Even with no agreementn on normalization of

foot prints in many countries, but

it is

important make efforts for low carbon productions.Limits and energetic costs of transport

.Promising path beyong retailers

: how to

manage food wastes?

Some concerns arise about

the impact of BECCs from IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems (SRCCL) “Climate change and land”, to be released by mid 2019.Afforestation and bioenergy carbon capture and sequestration (BECCS) are the only responses showing both a strong potential for climate change mitigation, buy they have large negative trade-offs with other challenges (i.e. food security and biodiversity).

Thanks!