Emissions from agriculture

Type of indicator	Environment
Indicator C45	Emissions from agriculture
Definition	This indicator is composed of two sub-indicators, one assessing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and one ammonia emissions. Indicator 1) GHG emissions from agriculture The indicator measures net GHG emissions from agriculture including agricultural soils: 1. Aggregated annual emissions of methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) from agriculture reported by Member States under the IPCC 'Agriculture' sector of the national greenhouse gas inventory submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. That sector includes the following sources of GHG from agriculture — enteric fermentation of ruminants (CH₄) – UNFCC Sector 3.A; — manure management (CH₄, N₂O) – UNFCC Sector 3.B; — rice cultivation (CH₄) – UNFCC Sector 3.C; — agricultural soil management (mainly CH₄, N₂O) – UNFCC Sector 3.D. These emissions are part of the binding emission reduction targets laid out under the Effort Sharing Regulation (Regulation 2018/842), and reporting on these emissions is mandatory under the Governance Regulation (Regulation 2018/1999). 2. Aggregated annual emissions and removals of carbon dioxide (CO₂), and (where these are not reported under the agriculture inventory) emissions of methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) from agricultural land uses (grassland and cropland), are reported by Member States under the IPCC ‘Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry’ (LULUCF) sector of the national GHG inventory to the UNFCCC: — Grassland – UNFCC Sector 4.C; — Cropland – UNFCC Sector 4.B. Emissions of CO₂ from the energy use of agricultural machinery, buildings and farm operations, which are included in the ‘energy’ inventory under UNFCCC, are not included in this indicator. These emissions and removals are covered by the LULUCF Regulation (Regulation 2018/841), and reporting on these emissions and removals is mandatory under the Governance Regulation (Regulation 2018/1999). The LULUCF categories that are relevant to this indicator are those related to cropland and grassland management, as defined in the Implementing Act accompanying the Governance Regulation. Indicator 2) Ammonia emissions from agriculture This indicator measures total annual ammonia emissions (NH₃) from agriculture, also broken down by subcategory as follows: — Synthetic N-fertilizers (NFR14 subsector 3DA1) — Cattle dairy (NFR14 subsector 3B1A) — Cattle non-dairy (NFR14 subsector 3B1B) — Swine (NFR14 subsector 3B3) — Laying hens (NFR14 subsector 3B4G1) — Broilers (NFR14 subsector 3B4G2) — All other agricultural subsectors (as a difference) — Total annual NH3 emissions from agriculture (NFR3B1A-NFR3B4H, 3DA1, 3DA2A, 3DA3) NFR means Nomenclature for Reporting, which refers to the format for the reporting of national data in accordance with the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) also remitted to the European Environment Agency (EEA).
Unit of measurement	1) GHG emissions from agriculture Absolute net GHG emissions are reported in tonnes of CO₂ equivalents. Relative net emissions are reported as a percentage of the net emissions in the reference year 2005. 2) Ammonia emissions from agriculture Kilotons of NH₃
Data source	The indicator is based on the annual national inventory submissions to the EU and subsequently the UNFCCC through the Monitoring Mechanism Regulation (Regulation 2018/1999). This reporting framework moreover describes requirements for monitoring and reporting under the Effort Sharing Regulation and LULUCF Regulation, e.g., Geospatial data sources for meeting IPCC approach 3 for LULUCF, such as services from the Copernicus programme, IACS/LPIS, LUCAS and others compliant with the INSPIRE directive. The inventory is compiled by each Member State, and then collated and quality-assured by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Topic Centre for Air Pollution and Climate Change Mitigation (ETC/ACM).
References/location of the data	1) GHG emissions from agriculture National emissions reported to the UNFCCC and to the EU Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Mechanism provided by the European Environment Agency: https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/national-emissions-reported-to-the-unfccc-and-to-the-eu-greenhouse-gas-monitoring-mechanism-17 The same data are also published in the UNFCCC database: http://di.unfccc.int/time_series and the Eurostat database: Greenhouse gas emissions by source sector (source: EEA) 2) Ammonia emissions from agriculture Air pollutant emissions data viewer (Gothenburg Protocol, LRTAP Convention) https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/national-emission-ceilings-nec-directive-inventory-18 ESTAT: Air pollutants by source sector (source: EEA) [env_air_emis], Air pollutants by source sector aggregated for indicator sets (source EEA, aggregation by Eurostat) [env_air_emis_ind]
Data collection level	Member State
Frequency	Data collected annually
Delay	1) GHG emissions from agriculture 2 years 2) Ammonia emissions from agriculture One year (year Y in December Y + 1)
Comments/caveats	1) GHG emissions from agriculture IPCC guidance allows countries to report GHG emissions and removals according to different tiers. For most agriculture and LULUCF emissions and removals, tier 1 is based on the use of activity data (e.g. agricultural production statistics) and global emission factors. Tier 2 follows the same approach but applies nationally defined emission factors. Tier 3 involves the use of models and higher order inventory data tailored to national circumstances. Methodologies for GHG emission estimates should follow IPCC guidance, but need not be identical across Member States. In particular, when using lower tiers, GHG emission estimates do not capture the effects of all mitigation measures that are supported by the CAP. That would require a high level of stratification of activity data, and corresponding information on emission factors, which often is not available. As a result, GHG emission estimates, in particular in the 'agriculture sector' (non-CO₂ gases) may not reflect the impact of all measures put in place and have a high level of uncertainty. However, the bulk of emissions and removals is captured by low-tier methods. For example, the bulk of emissions in relation to agricultural soils is caused by the cultivation of organic soils and the conversion of grasslands, which can be represented by activity data. This indicator differs from the Pillar I result indicator as it includes both agricultural non-CO₂ GHG emissions and emissions/removals from agricultural soils. This more comprehensive approach is followed as instruments under Pillar I and II address emissions/removals of both categories. Member States are encouraged to improve GHG inventories towards higher tiers, which would allow demonstrating the effects of technological improvements. It is recognised that data constraints limit the level of information in some Member States for this indicator. However, the situation should improve over time as inventories become better developed. Total GHG emissions at national level are calculated both with and without LULUCF but without indirect CO₂. In a Member State, the ratio of emissions from agriculture (including soils) to total net emissions can be higher than 100% if there are removals of GHG from the atmosphere through land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF). NO, NE is a UNFCCC notation key that means "not occurring, not estimated". 2) Ammonia emissions from agriculture Collection of these data is required under an existing reporting regime in the National Emission Ceilings Directive (2001/81 EC) and will not add any additional administrative burden for Member States.