Halfway There? What the Land Sector Can Contribute to Closing the Emissions Gap

The report finds that AFOLU mitigation potentials for eight major emitters—the United States, Indonesia, China, India, Brazil, the European Union, Mexico, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo—could reduce the 2020 emissions gap by approximately three-fourths and the 2030 gap by nearly half. The United States has the highest individual potential at 23 Gt CO2eq, while Indonesia, China, and India also show substantial potentials between 0.75 and 1.75 Gt. These potentials are derived from three primary activities: reducing emissions from deforestation and peatland clearing, decreasing agricultural emissions (such as methane and nitrous oxide), and increasing carbon sequestration through reforestation and ecosystem restoration.

• Among the eight major emitters, the United States possesses the highest mitigation potential at 23 Gt CO2eq, followed by Indonesia, China, and India with potentials between 0.75 and 1.75 Gt, and Brazil and the EU at approximately 0.5 Gt.
• AFOLU mitigation is categorized into three main activities: reducing emissions from deforestation, forest degradation, and peat land clearing; lowering agricultural emissions from sources like cattle methane, rice paddies, and fertilizer-derived nitrous oxide; and sequestering carbon via reforestation and ecosystem restoration.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2014). Halfway There? What the Land Sector Can Contribute to Closing the Emissions Gap. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2014/12/ucs-halfway-there-2015-executive-summary.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Halfway There? What the Land Sector Can Contribute to Closing the Emissions Gap. 2014. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2014/12/ucs-halfway-there-2015-executive-summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Halfway There? What the Land Sector Can Contribute to Closing the Emissions Gap |date=December 2014 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2014/12/ucs-halfway-there-2015-executive-summary.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2014halfway, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Halfway There? What the Land Sector Can Contribute to Closing the Emissions Gap}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2014}, month = dec, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2014/12/ucs-halfway-there-2015-executive-summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }