Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: KJWA

Mains level: Agricultural emissions

India has expressed its concern over the draft decision text to implement the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture.

What is the news?

India said developed countries are blocking a pro-poor and pro-farmer decision by insisting on expanding the scope for mitigation to agriculture.
Developed countries are thereby compromising the very foundation of food security in the world.

What is the Koronivia Joint Work?

The KJWA is a decision under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
It seeks to recognize the unique potential of agriculture in tackling climate change.
It emphasizes reducing emissions of greenhouse gases due to the agriculture sector.
The Koronivia decision addresses six interrelated topics on soils, nutrient use, water, livestock, methods for assessing adaptation, and the socio-economic and food security dimensions of climate change across the agricultural sectors.

India said that agricultural emissions are not “luxury” emissions but “survival” emissions of the poor.
The world is facing a climate crisis today because of the excessive historic cumulative emissions by the developed nations.
These nations are unable to reduce their emissions domestically by any worthwhile change in their lifestyles.
Rather, they are searching for cheaper solutions abroad.
In most developing countries across the world, agriculture is done by small and marginal farmers who toil hard and brave the vagaries of extreme weather and climate variability to ensure food security.

koronivia

Farms emitted 6 billion tonnes of GHGs in 2011, or about 13 percent of total global emissions.
That makes the agricultural sector the world’s second-largest emitter, after the energy sector (which includes emissions from power generation and transport).
Most farm-related emissions come in the form of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O).
Cattle belching (CH4) and the addition of natural or synthetic fertilizers and wastes to soils (N2O) represent the largest sources, making up 65 percent of agricultural emissions globally.
Smaller sources include manure management, rice cultivation, field burning of crop residues, and fuel use on farms.