![]() ![]() 1. What is regenerative agriculture?Īlthough regenerative agriculture has no universal definition, the term is often used to describe practices aimed at promoting soil health by restoring soil’s organic carbon. Here, we explain the practices people are calling regenerative agriculture, examine their climate change mitigation potential, and evaluate their place among other agriculture mitigation options. Our view is that the practices grouped as regenerative agriculture can improve soil health and yield some valuable environmental benefits, but are unlikely to achieve large-scale emissions reductions. Advocates claim a triple win: climate change mitigation, increased profit for farmers and greater resilience to a changing climate. Regenerative agriculture has become the darling of many policymakers, food companies and farmers. Yet much of the recent limelight for agricultural emissions reductions shines on one option that our report found had limited potential: increasing carbon sequestration in soils through practices broadly referred to as “regenerative agriculture.” Our World Resources Report: Creating a Sustainable Food Future, issued jointly with the World Bank and the UN, laid out 22 solutions to cut emissions by two-thirds, while still feeding a likely population of 10 billion in 2050. Several noteworthy reports have proposed a range of mitigation options. ![]() An additional explainer blog is available on the Potential Contribution of Soil Carbon Sequestration on Working Agricultural Lands to Climate Change Mitigation as well as a blog highlighting 6 Ways the US Can Curb Climate Change and Grow More Food.Īgriculture needs to close an 11-gigaton greenhouse gas (GHG) gap between expected emissions in 2050 and those needed to hold global warming below 2 oC. This blog post focuses on practices aimed primarily at boosting soil carbon on working agricultural lands. For more on the many benefits of agroforestry, see Chapter 13 in Creating a Sustainable Food Future, and for more on natural ecosystem restoration, see Chapters 20-21. EDITOR'S NOTE: Some people also include under “regenerative agriculture” practices primarily aimed at boosting yields (e.g., agroforestry, which integrates trees and shrubs on farmland, and can sequester carbon in soils and vegetation as a co-benefit) and/or practices aimed at regenerating lands that no longer produce food (e.g., reforestation, peatland restoration, riparian buffer zones). ![]()
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