Agricultural Infrastructure: Part 1 - Climate Impacts

Dr David Cutress: IBERS, Aberystwyth University

Recent figures suggest agriculture accounts for around 10% of the total GHG emissions in the UK and up to 24% of all human-related GHG emissions globally, indicating that it is an area of significant climate impact. The main focus on emissions within this sector revolves around methane (CH4) production (mostlyenteric production in livestock) and nitrous oxide (N2O) production (mostly through applications of inorganic fertilisers). Previous figures have suggested the emissions of these to be fairly similar due to agricultural outputs with around 25 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent being emitted a year. Whilst these are now key targets they are not the only climate impacts associated with agriculture, several other emission factors exist which need highlighting and mitigating for. One such area is agricultural infrastructure.

What is meant by infrastructure Within agriculture, infrastructure relates to the basic systems, facilities, and services required to keep the sector operating: power supplies, communication systems, and transportation methods, as well as, farm buildings, processing buildings and storage units. Infrastructure can be considered either broadly across the sector or on the level of an individual farm. Whilst significant infrastructure is imperative for the sector to thrive, aspects of its development, running and maintenance are significant contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, both directly and indirectly.

Current areas of emissions Agricultural buildings