High hopes are pinned on the agriculture sector to play its part in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, through undergoing a deep transformation to become climate smart. Agriculture is considered to be “climate-smart” when it contributes to increasing food security, and raises climate adaptation and mitigation in a sustainable way.

According to the recently released UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2013, agriculture has the potential to contribute to reducing global emissions to the tune of between 1.1 and 4.3 gigatonnes annually. Merlyn Van Voore, Adaptation Fund Coordinator at UNEP, said reductions in emissions from all sectors are urgently needed if we are to avert a rise in temperature this century that will have catastrophic effects on people and the environment. Van Voore was speaking on 12 November 2013, at an  event held on the sidelines of the ongoing UNFCC climate change conference in Warsaw.Read more. . .