Call for accelerating the decarbonization of agriculture

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for accelerating the decarbonization of agriculture. He spoke today (May 2) as part of the 14th St. Petersburg Climate Dialogue. The conference, which is being held in Berlin, aims to facilitate negotiations leading up to the COP28 conference in November. The UN Secretary-General has proposed a G20 Pact on Climate Solidarity - in which all major emitters make extraordinary efforts to reduce emissions and richer countries support emerging economies to do so. Decarbonisation of agriculture: Last month, Guterres unveiled a plan to step up efforts to achieve decarbonisation through the Acceleration Agenda. This suggests that all countries move quickly towards their 'net zero' deadline. It calls on developed countries to commit to "net zero" as close to 2040 as possible, a threshold they should all strive to meet. "The Acceleration Agenda calls on countries to pool their resources, scientific capacity and technology," Guterres said. “It asks them to phase out coal in OECD countries by 2030 and in all others by 2040; create "net zero" electricity generation by 2035 in developed countries and by 2040 in all others, while providing access to electricity for all. “Stop permitting, funding and expanding coal, oil and gas – old and new, and accelerate the decarbonisation of major sectors – from shipping, aviation and steel to cement, aluminum and agriculture – in partnership with the private sector. At the end of 2022, Ireland implemented its Climate Action Plan 2023. The measures for agriculture in this plan provide a viable path to achieving 25 % reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in agriculture by 2030. These measures are consistent with achieving 51 % reductions in Ireland's overall greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 'net zero emissions' by 2050 at the latest. (Charlotte Morrey, Agriland)