Quantifying and mitigating agricultural emissions in England and Wales in line with net zero ambitions

With 25 years for the UK Government to meet the ‘net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050’ target it set out in 2019, the pressure is increasing to find solutions to mitigate GHG emissions across sectors. Agriculture contributes 11% of UK GHG emissions, so this thesis aimed to further understanding around how the agriculture sector in England and Wales can reduce its GHG emissions to align with net zero targets using a combination of Life Cycle Assessment and scenario analyses of farm-level (University of Leeds farm) and regional-level GHG reduction and carbon removal practices.

Livestock feed, the application of manufactured fertilisers and manure management were found to be the main GHG emission sources for the University’s mixed farm. At farm-level, nitrification inhibitors applied with nitrogen fertiliser to arable crops and acidification of pig slurry were found to reduce the farm’s total emissions by 13%. At regional-level, increasing the uptake of practices including more efficient nitrogen fertiliser use on arable crops, introducing legumes into arable rotations, incorporating the methane feed inhibitor 3-NOP into cattle diets, and acidification of pig and dairy slurry, can reduce national-level GHG emissions each year to begin aligning with net zero targets.

However, key challenges around the quality of data available to perform these scenario analyses and the technical potential of these practices, such as practice additivity, economic and social implications of practice changes, was raised throughout this thesis. These factors have implications for farmers, food and drink businesses, and policymakers around the feasibility of a net zero farm, let alone a net zero agriculture sector. This thesis therefore highlights the need for higher quality farm data and better consensus on the appropriate practices to model but provides evidence supporting several GHG reduction opportunities and Government-aligned afforestation targets.