Regulatory Innovations for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agriculture and Food

Dear Colleagues,

The food system currently accounts for between 21 and 37% of all GHG emissions (IPCC, Special Report Climate Change and Land, 476), and agriculture is thought to be responsible for 80% of the biodiversity loss of the planet (Campbell et al. (2017), Ecology and Society 22(4) 8). The agricultural and food sectors are on the brink of a profound transition towards more sustainable food production, with a sharp focus on reducing the sector’s carbon footprint. Around the world, policies are being developed to reduce methane and nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural activities such as livestock keeping, to increase the carbon uptake of agricultural soils, and, more generally, to stimulate the adoption of more sustainable agricultural practices such as agro-forestry and organic farming. The European Union’s Green Deal and the associated Farm to Fork Strategy are examples of such new policies. While this uptake is encouraging, the limited time frame to achieve this transition and meet the Paris Agreement goals poses immense and daunting challenges that will be difficult to overcome. First, one must consider how changing climate and market conditions are making the agricultural and food sectors increasingly volatile and difficult spaces for regulatory innovation. Second, finding the right legal and policy instruments to achieve the required transition in an effective and efficient way is a complex endeavor. The EU is currently primarily using its extensive system of agricultural subsidies under its Common Agricultural Policy to stimulate farmers to reduce emissions, but its lackluster results to date suggest that more drastic instruments are needed as well. A few countries have incorporated their agricultural emissions into domestic emissions trading systems, for instance, through allowing mitigating farming practices and technological innovations to offset emissions elsewhere in the economy. Others have focused on the demand side, such as by imposing a carbon tax on agricultural products such as meat. Questions abound on the appropriate and desirable design of such instruments, as well as on their implementation and compliance with them. Should instruments aim to regulate individual farmers or should they focus on key sectoral players, such as the meat industry or supermarkets, or both? How can or should agricultural emissions be best brought under emissions trading systems, either directly requiring (certain) farmers to render allowances for their emissions, or through encouraging them to develop GHG emission reduction projects as offsets to sell to other emitters? What combined impact should we expect of such instruments that are aimed at these and other stakeholders in the food supply chain? What policy mixes render optimal results?

This Special Issue welcomes original research papers that explore effective and efficient policy interventions aimed at achieving greenhouse gas emission reductions in agriculture. We look forward to receiving your contributions from the various fields involved, such as law and policy, economics, governance, and other social sciences.

Prof. Dr. Jonathan Verschuuren
Dr. Floor Fleurke
Prof. Dr. Michael Leach
Guest Editors

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• greenhouse gas emissions
• GHG emissions reduction
• agricultural emissions
• policy interventions