Expanding Agriculture’s Role in a Post-2012 Climate Change Regime

The document analyzes the role of agriculture in global GHG mitigation and adaptation, highlighting that while the sector has a technical mitigation potential of 5.5 to 6 GtCO2e per year by 2030, progress is hindered by accounting complexities and non-permanence of soil carbon. It details Canada's domestic offset experiences, such as Alberta's tillage protocol, and argues for expanding the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) or creating new market mechanisms for sustainable development (MMSDs) to engage developing countries, where 70% of agricultural mitigation potential resides.

• The agricultural sector possesses a significant global technical mitigation potential, estimated between 5.5 and 6 GtCO2e per year by 2030, which could represent 5 to 20 per cent of total CO2 emissions by that date.
• A vast majority of agricultural mitigation potential is located in developing countries, with an estimated 70 per cent of the total potential found there.
• Soil carbon sequestration is the primary driver of agricultural mitigation, accounting for approximately 89 per cent of the total technical potential.
• The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has seen slow uptake in the agriculture and forestry sectors due to high preparation costs, data collection problems, and the temporary nature of credits (tCERs and lCERs) resulting from the non-permanence of sequestered carbon.
• Canada has developed domestic offset protocols for agriculture, notably in Alberta, which uses an 'assurance factor'—a built-in discount to account for future carbon losses—to address the issue of permanence in soil carbon credits.
• Developing countries face significant barriers to agricultural mitigation, including a lack of monitoring capacity, political priorities focused on poverty alleviation, and concerns that international control over agricultural policy could threaten food security and national sovereignty.
• There are strong synergies between agricultural mitigation and adaptation, as soil carbon sequestration can improve soil fertility, increase resistance to drought, and enhance the overall resilience of rural livelihoods.
• The report proposes that Canada should advocate for a 'flag' or 'marker' for agriculture in the Copenhagen Agreement to ensure the sector is recognized as a legitimate area for mitigation, with specific modalities to be developed later.

APA

Murphy, D., De Vit, C., Drexhage, J., & Nolet, J. (2009). Expanding Agriculture’s Role in a Post-2012 Climate Change Regime. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/agriculture_post_2012.pdf

Chicago

Murphy, Deborah, Caroline De Vit, John Drexhage, and Jean Nolet. Expanding Agriculture’s Role in a Post-2012 Climate Change Regime. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2009. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/agriculture_post_2012.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Murphy |first1=Deborah |last2=De Vit |first2=Caroline |last3=Drexhage |first3=John |last4=Nolet |first4=Jean |title=Expanding Agriculture’s Role in a Post-2012 Climate Change Regime |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=March 2009 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/agriculture_post_2012.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{murphy2009expanding, author = {Murphy, Deborah and De Vit, Caroline and Drexhage, John and Nolet, Jean}, title = {{Expanding Agriculture’s Role in a Post-2012 Climate Change Regime}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2009}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/agriculture_post_2012.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }