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Development and testing of a European Union‐wide farm‐level carbon calculator
Author(s) -
Tuomisto Hanna L,
De Camillis Camillo,
Leip Adrian,
Nisini Luigi,
Pelletier Nathan,
Haastrup Palle
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
integrated environmental assessment and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.665
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1551-3793
pISSN - 1551-3777
DOI - 10.1002/ieam.1629
Subject(s) - carbon footprint , greenhouse gas , calculator , european union , agriculture , life cycle assessment , environmental science , environmental economics , environmental resource management , environmental protection , natural resource economics , environmental planning , agricultural science , business , engineering , production (economics) , computer science , geography , economics , ecology , macroeconomics , archaeology , biology , economic policy , operating system
Direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture accounted for approximately 10% of total European Union (EU) emissions in 2010. To reduce farming‐related GHG emissions, appropriate policy measures and supporting tools for promoting low‐C farming practices may be efficacious. This article presents the methodology and testing results of a new EU‐wide, farm‐level C footprint calculator. The Carbon Calculator quantifies GHG emissions based on international standards and technical specifications on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and C footprinting. The tool delivers its results both at the farm level and as allocated to up to 5 main products of the farm. In addition to the quantification of GHG emissions, the calculator proposes mitigation options and sequestration actions that may be suitable for individual farms. The results obtained during a survey made on 54 farms from 8 EU Member States are presented. These farms were selected in view of representing the diversity of farm types across different environmental zones in the EU. The results of the C footprint of products in the data set show wide range of variation between minimum and maximum values. The results of the mitigation actions showed that the tool can help identify practices that can lead to substantial emission reductions. To avoid burden‐shifting from climate change to other environmental issues, the future improvements of the tool should include incorporation of other environmental impact categories in place of solely focusing on GHG emissions. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2015;11:404–416. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC.