Reductin of greenhouse gases emission and sustainability: The multi-criteria approach

It is becoming increasingly urgent to solve the problem of climate change and other related matters. Actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of anthropogenic origin – the major cause of climate change – are taken in the increasing number of economic sectors. This also applies to agriculture. The European Union’s climate policy assumes that the reduction of emissions in agriculture will be taken pursuit to national commitments. A basis for international comparisons is the criterion of emissions per sector in a given country. In the opinion of the authors, this approach is groundless because it does not take into account the size of the countries, the role of the agricultural sector in the economy and the population. For this reason, what is proposed is the more balanced approach based on three criteria: economic, social and environmental. The presented comparative analysis of 10 major emitters of greenhouse gases in European Union agriculture shows that the situation is different depending on the criterion applied. Such a multi-criterion approach may be a hint for policy makers, in whose countries the actions for the reduction of climate change can be more effective. The studies were conducted based on the Eurostat data.