Get Greenhouse Gas Emissions Along The Rural-Urban Gradient Draft ... - Policy Rutgers

Conventional tilling, that is plowing up the dirt, encourages microbial action. That can lead to CO2 emissions and the more potent greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide.

Ploughing releases carbon into the atmosphere and depletes the micro-organisms which enrich the soil. Eventually it will lead to crop failure, soil erosion and in extreme cases, famine. “When a farmer ploughs and cultivates a paddock it releases CO2 into the atmosphere.

Agriculture emits all three greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N20). These gases differ, though, in their ability to trap heat; tonne for tonne, CH4 is more than 20 times as effective at trapping heat as CO2, and N20 is about 300 times as effective as CO2.

Agriculture contributes to the emissions of nitrous oxide, methane and carbon dioxide.

Energy is the dominant contributor to climate change, accounting for around 60 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions.

Cities account for over 70% of global CO2 emissions, most of which come from industrial and motorized transport systems that use huge quantities of fossil fuels and rely on far-flung infrastructure constructed with carbon-intensive materials.

The new law establishes GHG reduction targets below 2005 emissions levels of 28% by 2025 and 45% by 2030. The law further establishes a long-term target of zero or near-zero GHG emissions by 2050.