The GHGI (greenhouse gas inventory) is the official document that compiles economy-wide emissions estimates including from the agriculture sector.
The data presented in it are used by the UK Government to track and report progress against the 2050 net zero target and for international reporting under the Paris Agreement. The figures ultimately inform government policy and priorities.听
The UK鈥檚 latest annual submission was made in and covers the period from 1990 to 2023.
皇家华人is holding a workshop on 5 September with those involved in pulling together the GHGI as well as those who use it to inform government policy. The event aims to promote better understanding, given the complexity and diversity of farm systems, management practices and data sources in the UK.
But how does this impact farmers today? And how is the GHGI calculated?
Digging into the data
Many on-farm actions taken by farmers and growers to make their businesses more sustainable are reflected in the figures below, which show a reduction in agricultural emissions in recent years. Agricultural emissions are mainly reported across two primary categories: 鈥楢griculture鈥� and 鈥楲and use, land-use change and forestry鈥� (LULUCF). Other sources of emissions such as on-farm fuel use are included in other categories.
| Table ES 2 | Aggregated emission trends per source category, including all estimated GHG emissions from the Crown Dependencies and relevant Overseas Territories (Mt CO2听 equivalent) | |||||||||
| Source category | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 1. Energy | 602.8 | 558.5 | 553.8 | 550.3 | 500.1 | 404.8 | 316.1 | 333.1 | 317.8 | 300.2 |
| 2. Industrial processes and product use | 80.1 | 73.5 | 52.9 | 49.3 | 40.4 | 41.3 | 31.5 | 29.8 | 28.2 | 26.2 |
| 3. Agriculture | 50.6 | 49.7 | 48.4 | 46.3 | 43.7 | 44.3 | 42.5 | 43.0 | 42.2 | 41.4 |
| 4. LULUCF | 10.7 | 8.3 | 5.8 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.1 |
| 5. Waste | 70.5 | 73.4 | 67.9 | 54.8 | 35.0 | 24.3 | 21.3 | 20.3 | 20.2 | 20.1 |
| Total (net emissions) | 814.8 | 763.4 | 728.7 | 703.7 | 620.4 | 514.8 | 411.8 | 426.5 | 408.9 | 389.1 |
Table: Data from the UK greenhouse gas inventory, 1990-2023
Farmers and growers are playing their part in decarbonisation towards the UK鈥檚 2050 net zero target 鈥� agricultural emissions continue to fall. But we know there is much misunderstanding about where agriculture sits within the inventory. Our NFU ambition recognises that actions taken by farmers and growers contribute across multiple inventory sectors:
- reducing emissions within the agriculture sector
- protecting and enhancing carbon stocks within LULUCF
- producing renewable energy which sits within the energy inventory
- and increasing circularity to contribute to reducing waste.
NFU brings together key stakeholders to discuss the GHGI
The GHGI is a highly technical piece of work spanning over 1,000 pages and has undergone many improvements in recent years. It is prepared by a consortium of organisations responsible for specific sectors. The agricultural inventory is produced by Ricardo consultants on behalf of Desnz (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero). Ricardo also receives input from Defra, ADAS, Rothamsted Research, UKCEH, and Forest Research.听
Our workshop on 5 September, held jointly with AHDB, aims to address the misunderstandings around GHGI by providing the background to the inventory, its status, how it is used by policymakers, where the gaps are and how we can work collaboratively to increase understanding across the industry.
Given this complexity, transparency and collaboration are important and the NFU is playing a key role in bridging the knowledge gap between members and technical experts behind the GHGI.
Look out for the next in our series of articles on specific aspects of the GHGI.听