Contribution of the land sector to a 1.5 °C world

Summary

This multi-institutional analysis examines the critical role of the land sector in achieving the 1.5 °C climate ambition of the Paris Agreement. The authors integrate agricultural emissions, soil carbon dynamics, forestry and land-use change into integrated assessment models to quantify the mitigation contribution required from farming and land systems. The work evaluates trade-offs and feasibility across production-side mitigation, demand-side shifts and nature-based solutions to position the land sector within global climate ambitions.

UK applicability

The findings are relevant to UK policy frameworks on agricultural emissions and land-use change, particularly within the context of net-zero targets and climate commitments. UK farming systems (predominantly pasture-based livestock and arable cereals) will be subject to similar mitigation pathways modelled at the global scale, though localisation of trade-offs and feasibility would require additional analysis.

Key measures

Greenhouse gas emission reductions from land sector; soil carbon sequestration potential; land-use change contributions; feasibility of different mitigation pathways

Outcomes reported

The paper quantifies the mitigation contribution required from the land sector (agriculture, forestry and land-use change) to support the 1.5 °C climate goal, and evaluates feasibility and trade-offs across production-side mitigation, demand-side shifts and nature-based solutions. The work integrates agricultural emissions, soil carbon dynamics and forestry into integrated assessment models.

Topic tags