With our rapidly changing climate and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns, investing in regenerative agriculture and sustainable farming is becoming more and more crucial. McKinsey & Company's agriculture program recently published a research report about the future of farming and the necessity to focus on sustainability. The report reveals that 50% of the reduction in on-farm agricultural emissions required for a 1.5 degree C pathway are cost neutral or ROI-positive today but barriers remain. The findings of the report can guide food and agriculture organizations as they transition to increased sustainability.

Key findings include:

  • To remain on a 1.5 degree C pathway, agriculture will have to cut its overall emissions from 14.4 metric gigatons (Gt) of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) to 3.1 Gt CO₂e by 2050—almost 80%
  • Major barriers, namely transition financing, investment to reduce costs, behavior change, and additional incentives such as increased carbon prices are needed to support adoption
  • The conversion of land for agriculture, methane emissions from livestock and agricultural energy use cumulatively account for 74% of all agricultural emissions

Action beyond the farm will also be required:

  • Reducing food waste by just 23% could save 0.7 metric Gt of CO₂e equivalent
  • Shifting diets away from animal proteins could save nearly 640 million hectares of land
  • Nature-based land use such as forest restoration may abate 6.7 GT CO₂e by 2050 

Read the full report below:

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