Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2021, 67(11):435-444 | DOI: 10.17221/145/2021-AGRICECON

Agricultural production trends towards carbon neutrality in response to the EU 2030 Green Deal: Economic and environmental analysis in horticultureOriginal Paper

Alessandro Scuderi*, Mariarita Cammarata, Ferdinando Branca, Giuseppe Timpanaro
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, Catania, Italy

The European Green Deal to tackle climate change sets emission reduction targets for 2050. Particular attention has been paid to the agricultural sector, where there is a strong need to reduce carbon emissions and re-establish the natural carbon cycles. The concept of carbon neutrality is emerging in a scenario where it is necessary to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from cultivation to near zero. The quantification of carbon emissions was carried out by the carbon footprint (CF) of conventional, organic and zero residue potato cultivation in Sicily. In order to provide farmers and consumers with answers regarding the most sustainable cultivation regime, the results showed that the organic and zero residue methods have the best results in terms of emissions; the latter instead revealed the positive results in economic terms. It becomes a new model to follow in the pursuit of sustainability as it is based on the reduction of synthesis inputs and is free from the constraints imposed by organic production standards.

Keywords: carbon footprint; economics; sustainability; zero residue

Published: November 12, 2021  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Scuderi A, Cammarata M, Branca F, Timpanaro G. Agricultural production trends towards carbon neutrality in response to the EU 2030 Green Deal: Economic and environmental analysis in horticulture. Agric. Econ. - Czech. 2021;67(11):435-444. doi: 10.17221/145/2021-AGRICECON.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Alvarez T., Frampton G.K., Goulson D. (2001): Epigeic Collembola in winter wheat under organic, integrated and conventional farm management regimes. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 83: 95-110. Go to original source...
    2. Adewale C., Higgins S., Granatstein D., Stöckle C.O., Carlson B.R., Zaher U.E., Carpenter-Boggs L. (2016): Identifying hotspots in the carbon footprint of a small scale organic vegetable farm. Agricultural Systems, 149: 112-121. Go to original source...
    3. Becker S., Bouzdine-Chameeva T., Jaegler A. (2020): The carbon neutrality principle: A case study in the French spirits sector. Journal of Cleaner Production, 274: 1-10. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    4. Bonnafè J.-L. (2020): Putting the Environment at the Core of a Collective Rebound. Opinion column published in the daily Le Monde, May 5, 2020. Available at https://www.saint-gobain.com/sites/saint-gobain.com/files/collectiverebound-call-epe-lemonde-20200504.pdf (accessed Apr 9, 2021).
    5. Brentrup F., Küsters J., Kuhlmann H., Lammel J. (2001): Application of the Life Cycle Assessment methodology to agricultural production: An example of sugar beet production with different forms of nitrogen fertilisers. European Journal of Agronomy, 14: 221-233. Go to original source...
    6. Browne D., O'Regan B., Moles R. (2009): Use of carbon footprinting to explore alternative household waste policy scenarios in an Irish city-region. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 54: 113-122. Go to original source...
    7. BSI (2008): Publicly Available Specification 2050:2008. Specification for the Assessment of the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Goods and Services. London, United Kingdom, British Standards Institute. Available at https://www.plateformeco2.ch/portal/documents/10279/17373/BSI_standard2008a+PAS2050.pdf/645e407d-c2c9-4abdb9d7-37564071a95d (accessed Jan 24, 2021).
    8. Council of the European Union (2006): Renewed EU Sustainable Development Strategy. No. 10917/06, June 26, 2006. Brussels, Belgium, Council of the European Union: 1-29.
    9. De Pinto A., Li M., Haruna A., Kwon H.-Y., Hyman G.G., Creamer B., Garcia J.B.V., Tapasco J., Martinez J.D., Martinez M.A.L. (2016): Low emission development strategies in agriculture. An agriculture, forestry, and other land uses (AFOLU) perspective. World Development, 87: 180-203. Go to original source...
    10. East A.J. (2008): What is a carbon footprint? An overview of definitions and methodologies. In: Vegetable Industry Carbon Footprint Scoping Study - Discussion Papers and Workshop, Horticulture Australia Ltd, Sydney, Australia, Sept 26, 2008: 1-13.
    11. European Commission (2006): Commission Directive 2006/125/EC of 5 December 2006 on processed cerealbased foods and baby foods for infants and young children. Official Journal of the European Union, 339: 16-35.
    12. European Commission (2019): The European Green Deal. 11. 12. 2019 COM(2019) 640 Final. Brussels, Belgium, European Commission: 1-24.
    13. Falcone G., Stillitano T., Montemurro F., De Luca A.I., Gulisano G., Strano A. (2019): Environmental and economic assessment of sustainability in Mediterranean wheat production. Agronomy Research, 17: 60-76.
    14. Finkbeiner M. (2009). Carbon footprinting - Opportunities and threats. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 14: 91-94. Go to original source...
    15. Foti V.T., Scuderi A., Timpanaro G. (2017): The economy of the common good: The expression of a new sustainable economic model. Quality - Access to Success, 18: 206-214.
    16. Hoek A.C., Pearson D., James S.W., Lawrence M.A., Friel S. (2017): Healthy and environmentally sustainable food choices: Consumer responses to point-of-purchase actions. Food Quality and Preference, 58: 94-106. Go to original source...
    17. IPCC (2013): The Physical Science Basis, Working Group I Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: 1-222.
    18. ISTAT (2020): Dati Istat. [Dataset]. Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (ISTAT). Available at http://dati.istat.it/Index.aspx?QueryId=33654 (accessed Feb 2, 2021). (in Italian)
    19. Kolasa-Więcek A. (2018): Neural modeling of greenhouse gas emission from agricultural sector in European Union member countries. Water, Air & Soil Pollution, 229: 1-12. Go to original source...
    20. Kromp B. (1990): Carabid beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) as bioindicators in biological and conventional farming in Austrian potato fields. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 9: 182-187. Go to original source...
    21. Lubowski R.N., Rose S.K. (2013): The potential for REDD+: Key economic modeling insights and issues. Review of Environment Economics and Policy, 7: 67-90. Go to original source...
    22. Meisterling K., Samaras C., Schweizer V. (2009): Decisions to reduce greenhouse gases from agriculture and product transport: LCA case study of organic and conventional wheat. Journal of Cleaner Production, 17: 222-230. Go to original source...
    23. Moreby S.J., Aebischer N.J., Southway S.E., Sotherton N.W. (1994): A comparison of the flora and arthropod fauna of organically grown winter wheat in Southern England. Annals of Applied Biology, 125: 13-27. Go to original source...
    24. Moreno Ruiz E., Valsasina L., FitzGerald D., Brunner F., Symeonidis A., Bourgault G., Wernet G. (2019): Documentation of Changes Implemented in the Ecoinvent Database v3.6 (2019.09.12). Zürich, Switzerland, Ecoinvent Association.
    25. Natural Capital Partners (2020): CarbonNeutral Protocol. Natural Capital Partners. Available at https://www.carbonneutral.com/pdfs/The_CarbonNeutral_Protocol_Jan_2020.pdf (accessed Feb 2, 2021).
    26. Nemecek T., Kägi T. (2007): Life Cycle Inventories of Agricultural Production Systems. Final Report Ecoinvent v2.0 No. 15. Dübendorf, Switzerland, Swiss Centre for Life Cycle Inventories: 1-360.
    27. Nemecek T., Weiler K., Plassmann K., Schnetzer J., Gaillard G., Jefferies D., García-Suárez T., King H., Milà i Canals L. (2011): Modular extrapolation approach for crop LCA MEXALCA: Global warming potential of different crops and its relationship to the yield. In: Finkbeiner M. (ed.): Towards Life Cycle Sustainability Management. Dordrecht, Netherlands, Springer: 309-317. Go to original source...
    28. Nemecek T., Weiler K., Plassmann K., Schnetzer J., Gaillard G., Jefferies D., García-Suárez T., King H., Milà i Canals L. (2012): Estimation of the variability in global warming potential of worldwide crop production using a modular extrapolation approach. Journal of Cleaner Production, 31: 106-117. Go to original source...
    29. Schaufele I., Hamm U. (2017): Consumers' perceptions, preferences and willingness to pay for wine with sustainability characteristics: A review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 147: 379-394. Go to original source...
    30. Seda M., Assumpció A., Muñoz P. (2010): Analysing the influence of the functional unit in agricultural LCA. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Life Cycle Assessment in the Agri-food Sector, Bari, Italy, Sept, 2010: 85-90.
    31. SETAC (2008): Standardisation efforts to measure greenhouse gases and 'carbon footprinting' for products (editorial). SETAC Europe LCA Steering Committee. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 13: 87-88. Go to original source...
    32. Scuderi A., Foti V.T., Timpanaro G., Sturiale L. (2016): Economic and environmental analysis of organic early potatoes. Acta Horticulturae, 1142: 193-200. Go to original source...
    33. Scuderi A., Cammarata M., La Via G., Pecorino B., Timpanaro G. (2021): Life-cycle assessment of biofortified productions: The case of selenium potato. Applied System Innovation, 4: 1-11. Go to original source...
    34. Solazzo R., Donati M., Tomasi L., Arfini F. (2016). How effective is greening policy in reducing GHG emissions from agriculture? Evidence from Italy. The Science of Total Environment, 573: 1115-1124. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    35. Steenis N.D., van der Lans I.A., van Herpen E., van Trijp H.C.M. (2018): Effects of sustainable design strategies on consumer preferences for redesigned packaging. Journal of Cleaner Production, 205: 854-865. Go to original source...
    36. Suh S., Lenzen M., Treloar G.J., Hondo H., Horvath A., Huppes G. (2004): System boundary selection in life-cycle inventories using hybrid approaches. Environmental Science & Technology, 38: 657-664. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    37. Timpanaro G., Branca F., Cammarata M., Falcone G., Scuderi A. (2021). Life Cycle Assessment to highlight the environmental burdens of early potato production. Agronomy, 11: 1-20. Go to original source...
    38. WHO (2005): Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Synthesis. A Report of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. World Health Organization. Washington D.C., USA, Island Press: 1-54.
    39. Wiedmann T., Minx J. (2008): A definition of 'carbon footprint'. Ecological Economics Research Trends, 1: 1-11.
    40. WRI/WBCSD (2004): The Greenhouse Gas Protocol: A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. Revised Edition. Washington D.C., USA, World Resources Institute/Geneva, Switzerland, World Business Council for Sustainable Development and World Resource Institute: 1-112.

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content