China has achieved a dual reduction in both the total volume and intensity of agricultural carbon emissions.

Release Date:

2024-05-14

Recently, the Institute of Agricultural Environment and Sustainable Development of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences hosted the launch event for the China Agricultural and Rural Low-Carbon Development Report and the 17th Symposium on Agricultural Environmental Science. The “2024 China Agricultural and Rural Low-Carbon Development Report” released at the event indicates that, based on China’s most recent national greenhouse gas inventory data, both the total volume and intensity of agricultural carbon emissions have declined, making a significant contribution to the country’s overall greenhouse gas reduction efforts.

It is reported that, since 1994, the Chinese government has submitted seven national reports on changes in greenhouse gas emissions to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Due to the inherent time lag in estimating greenhouse gas emissions, the most recent national greenhouse gas inventory covers data for the year 2018.

The report indicates that the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural activities in China are methane emissions from rice paddies, nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural land, methane emissions from enteric fermentation in livestock, and greenhouse gas emissions associated with manure management. Data show that in 2018, China’s total agricultural greenhouse gas emissions amounted to 793 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, a 4.34% decrease compared with 2014, reflecting a steady decline in overall agricultural carbon emissions. Meanwhile, between 1994 and 2018, China’s agricultural GDP grew from RMB 960 billion to RMB 6.47 trillion, and the carbon intensity of agricultural production—measured as carbon emissions per RMB 10,000 of agricultural GDP—fell from 6.32 tonnes of CO₂e to 1.17 tonnes of CO₂e. This latest figure is now lower than those of the United States and Germany, underscoring the continued reduction in the carbon intensity of China’s agricultural sector.

The report analyzes that the dual decline in both the total volume and intensity of China’s agricultural carbon emissions is largely attributable to the implementation of a series of policies and measures aimed at high-quality development of the agricultural sector and low-carbon practices. In terms of scientific and technological innovation, China has established a climate-smart technology system for reducing methane emissions from rice paddies, focusing on rapid straw decomposition, microbial inoculants, the selection of high-yield, low-emission crop varieties, and water-saving irrigation. In the livestock sector, R&D efforts have centered on mitigating enteric methane emissions and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from manure management; nationwide, 96 counties have adopted county-wide approaches to the resourceful utilization of livestock and poultry manure, effectively curbing methane and nitrous oxide emissions during waste treatment. Regarding soil carbon sequestration and enhancement in agricultural land, carbon‑sequestering technologies have been widely promoted, with organic amendment techniques—such as returning straw, livestock and poultry manure, and green manure to the field—demonstrating particularly strong carbon‑sink effects. Moreover, in the realm of rural biomass energy, an industrial framework has been steadily taking shape: biomass power generation continues to grow, with the country now boasting 7,395 large-scale biogas facilities capable of producing 1.4 billion cubic meters of gas annually. Multiple ten‑thousand‑ton‑scale demonstration bases for biomass pellet fuel production have been established, supported by 2,664 processing sites with a combined capacity exceeding 12.6 million tons. Meanwhile, the level of technological equipment for agricultural biomass has improved markedly, yielding significant results in pollution control, emission reduction, and carbon mitigation.

Source: Guangming Daily

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