title: Development and testing of a European Union-wide farm-level carbon calculator.
abstract: Direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture accounted for approximately 10% of total European Union (EU) emissions in 2010. To reduce farming-related GHG emissions, appropriate policy measures and supporting tools for promoting low-C farming practices may be efficacious. This article presents the methodology and testing results of a new EU-wide, farm-level C footprint calculator. The Carbon Calculator quantifies GHG emissions based on international standards and technical specifications on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and C footprinting. The tool delivers its results both at the farm level and as allocated to up to 5 main products of the farm. In addition to the quantification of GHG emissions, the calculator proposes mitigation options and sequestration actions that may be suitable for individual farms. The results obtained during a survey made on 54 farms from 8 EU Member States are presented. These farms were selected in view of representing the diversity of farm types across different environmental zones in the EU. The results of the C footprint of products in the data set show wide range of variation between minimum and maximum values. The results of the mitigation actions showed that the tool can help identify practices that can lead to substantial emission reductions. To avoid burden-shifting from climate change to other environmental issues, the future improvements of the tool should include incorporation of other environmental impact categories in place of solely focusing on GHG emissions.
authors: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Ispra, Italy.
authors: Hanna L
authors: HL
authors: Tuomisto
authors: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Ispra, Italy.|Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department, Rome, Italy.
authors: Camillo
authors: C
authors: De Camillis
authors: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Ispra, Italy.
authors: Adrian
authors: A
authors: Leip
authors: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Ispra, Italy.
authors: Luigi
authors: L
authors: Nisini
authors: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Ispra, Italy.|Global Ecologic, Vernon, British Columbia, Canada.
authors: Nathan
authors: N
authors: Pelletier
authors: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Ispra, Italy.
authors: Palle
authors: P
authors: Haastrup
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis*; D058572:Carbon Footprint; D057231:Climate Change; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005062:European Union
chemical_list: D002244:Carbon
keywords: Agriculture; C footprint; Farming practices; Greenhouse gas emissions; Life cycle assessment
references: Environ Sci Technol. 2006 Feb 1;40(3):641-8
references: 16509298
references: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008 Feb 27;363(1492):789-813
references: 17827109
references: Nature. 2009 Sep 24;461(7263):472-5
references: 19779433
references: Environ Pollut. 2011 Nov;159(11):3223-32
references: 21186068
references: Environ Sci Technol. 2012 Apr 3;46(7):4100-8
references: 22443866