Net Zero Target and Land Use in Agriculture and Forestry: Carbon Auditing, Offsetting and Trading

Dear Colleagues,

The COP21 Paris Agreement of 2015 set the global stage for ambitious climate action, with countries committing to limit global warming to well below 2 °C, preferably 1.5 °C, compared to pre-industrial levels. In pursuit of this goal, the global drive to achieve net zero emissions has become a critical objective in mitigating climate change. However, achieving national net zero targets on schedule presents significant challenges. This Special Issue explores the intersection of net zero goals with agricultural and forestry land use practices, focusing on carbon auditing, offsetting, and trading systems. The objective is to investigate how agricultural, forestry land use, and associated practices can be optimized to support carbon reduction goals.

Agricultural and forestry land uses play crucial roles in carbon management. Within these, practices like reforestation, agroforestry, and precision agriculture can significantly contribute to reducing emissions and enhancing carbon sinks.

Carbon auditing is the process of measuring and documenting an entity's greenhouse gas emissions over a specific period. This comprehensive assessment typically covers direct emissions from owned or controlled sources, indirect emissions from purchased energy, and other indirect emissions in the value chain. Carbon audits provide organizations with a clear understanding of their emissions profile, enabling them to identify reduction opportunities and track progress towards their climate goals.

Carbon offsetting involves compensating for carbon emissions by funding projects that reduce or remove an equivalent amount of greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere. These projects can include reforestation, renewable energy installations, or methane capture from landfills. Offsetting is often used as a complementary strategy to direct emissions reductions, allowing organizations to address unavoidable emissions and accelerate their path to net zero.

Carbon trading is a market-based approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, operating under cap-and-trade systems. Governments set a limit (cap) on total emissions and distribute or auction off emission allowances. Companies that reduce their emissions below their allotted level can sell their excess allowances to others that exceed their limits. This system creates a financial incentive for emissions reduction and allows for cost-effective compliance with emission targets across various sectors and regions.

Essential digital tools and resources for carbon management in agricultural and forestry land use scenarios include carbon emission footprint calculators, emission factor databases, and artificial intelligence (AI). Carbon emission footprint calculators automate the quantification of emissions from various land use activities, supporting accurate auditing and determining offsetting requirements. Emission factor databases provide standardized factors for different land use practices, ensuring consistency in carbon accounting across sectors and enhancing the credibility of trading systems. AI can analyze satellite imagery and sensor data to track land use changes and their carbon impacts, improving the accuracy of audits by detecting anomalies, optimizing offset project selection, and enhancing trading market efficiency through trend analysis and emissions predictions. These tools collectively enable more precise carbon auditing, facilitate effective offsetting strategies, and support transparent and efficient carbon trading markets in agricultural and forestry land use contexts.

The integration of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, along with strategic land use practices such as conservation tillage and sustainable forestry management, can potentially play an important role in meeting net zero targets across agricultural and forestry land use categories. AI-powered predictive modeling and data analytics can optimize land use decisions, enhance carbon sequestration efforts, and improve the efficiency of emission reduction strategies, thereby supporting the achievement of climate goals in agricultural and forestry land use contexts.

We invite researchers and professionals to share their insights and innovations in these areas. Original research articles and review papers that delve into the latest developments and challenges in attaining national net zero targets in agriculture and forestry are welcome. We also wlecome the use of digital tools for carbon emission and offsetting in these sectors.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following: land use and land cover change; land degradation; land management; landscape ecology and landscape planning; urban sprawl, land consumption and land take; ecosystem services; remote sensing of land; soil and land; land reclamation.

The proposed Special Issue touches on several of these topics, particularly land use change, land management, ecosystem services (in the form of carbon sequestration), and the use of remote sensing (through AI and digital tools) for land management. Original research and review papers are welcome.

Dr. Naser Khan
Guest Editor

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• net zero emissions
• agricultural and forestry land use strategies
• artificial intelligence
• carbon auditing
• carbon offsetting
• carbon trading
• climate change mitigation
• sustainable agriculture and forestry
• emissions management
• greenhouse gas reduction
• artificial intelligence
• emission factor databases