Food systems account for an estimated one-third of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The 2022 OECD Meeting of Agriculture Ministers therefore committed to increase climate change mitigation efforts by reducing emissions from agriculture and food systems and by increasing carbon sequestration. In 2023, 160 Heads of State and Government similarly affirmed in the COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action, that any path to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement must include agriculture and food systems.
OECD analysis has long supported governments' efforts to improve the environmental sustainability of the agricultural sector, including GHG emissions. In recent years, OECD analysis has also taken a broader "food systems" lens, looking at the role of food loss and waste, consumer behaviour, and environmental impacts along food supply chains, among other topics.
Reliable data is essential to support efforts to improve environmental sustainability, whether by governments, farmers, businesses, or households. Yet at the moment, it is often difficult to find reliable data on environmental impacts of food products, such as their carbon footprint.
This report asks what it would take to achieve reliable and widespread measurement of carbon footprints of agri-food products, taking into account the specific characteristics of the sector. It identifies eight building blocks and shows that many of the necessary elements are emerging, although more work is needed to further develop and align these. It calls on researchers, farmers, other supply chain actors, governments, and civil society, both at the domestic and international levels, to work together to avoid fragmentation.