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Agricultural Productivity and Climate Mitigation

Author

Listed:
  • Keith O. Fuglie

    (Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC, USA)

  • Thomas W. Hertel

    (Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA)

  • David B. Lobell

    (Department of Earth System Science, Doerr School of Sustainability, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA)

  • Nelson B. Villoria

    (Department of Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA)

Abstract

Agriculture will play a central role in meeting greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets, as the sector currently contributes ∼22% of global emissions. Because emissions are directly tied to resources employed in farm production, such as land, fertilizer, and ruminant animals, the productivity of input use tends to be inversely related to emissions intensity. We review evidence on how productivity gains in agriculture have contributed to historical changes in emissions, how they affect land use emissions both locally and globally, and how investments in research and development (R&D) affect productivity and therefore emissions. The world average agricultural emissions intensity fell by more than half since 1990, with a strong correlation between a region's agricultural productivity growth and reduction in emissions intensity. Additional investment in agricultural R&D offers an opportunity for cost-effective (

Suggested Citation

  • Keith O. Fuglie & Thomas W. Hertel & David B. Lobell & Nelson B. Villoria, 2024. "Agricultural Productivity and Climate Mitigation," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 16(1), pages 21-40, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:anr:reseco:v:16:y:2024:p:21-40
    DOI: 10.1146/annurev-resource-101323-094349
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Uris Lantz C Baldos & Frederi G Viens & Thomas W Hertel & Keith O Fuglie, 2019. "R&D Spending, Knowledge Capital, and Agricultural Productivity Growth: A Bayesian Approach," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 101(1), pages 291-310.
    2. Thomas W. Hertel & Uris Lantz C. Baldos & Dominique van der Mensbrugghe, 2016. "Predicting Long-Term Food Demand, Cropland Use, and Prices," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 8(1), pages 417-441, October.
    3. Nelson B. Villoria & Derek Byerlee & James Stevenson, 2014. "The Effects of Agricultural Technological Progress on Deforestation: What Do We Really Know?," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 36(2), pages 211-237.
    4. Nelson B Villoria, 2019. "Technology Spillovers and Land Use Change: Empirical Evidence from Global Agriculture," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 101(3), pages 870-893.
    5. David B. Lobell & Nelson B. Villoria, 2023. "Reduced benefits of climate-smart agricultural policies from land-use spillovers," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 6(8), pages 941-948, August.
    6. Stephanie Roe & Charlotte Streck & Michael Obersteiner & Stefan Frank & Bronson Griscom & Laurent Drouet & Oliver Fricko & Mykola Gusti & Nancy Harris & Tomoko Hasegawa & Zeke Hausfather & Petr Havlík, 2019. "Contribution of the land sector to a 1.5 °C world," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 9(11), pages 817-828, November.
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    9. Nelson B. Villoria & Thomas W. Hertel, 2011. "Geography Matters: International Trade Patterns and the Indirect Land Use Effects of Biofuels," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 93(4), pages 919-935.
    10. Martin Lampe & Dirk Willenbockel & Helal Ahammad & Elodie Blanc & Yongxia Cai & Katherine Calvin & Shinichiro Fujimori & Tomoko Hasegawa & Petr Havlik & Edwina Heyhoe & Page Kyle & Hermann Lotze-Campe, 2014. "Why do global long-term scenarios for agriculture differ? An overview of the AgMIP Global Economic Model Intercomparison," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 45(1), pages 3-20, January.
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    12. Keith Fuglie & Srabashi Ray & Uris Lantz C. Baldos & Thomas W. Hertel, 2022. "The R&D cost of climate mitigation in agriculture," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(4), pages 1955-1974, December.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    total factor productivity; abatement cost; R&D lag; emissions intensity; land use change;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q16 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - R&D; Agricultural Technology; Biofuels; Agricultural Extension Services
    • Q5 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics

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