Climate change

adaptation in the

agriculture sector in

Europekey messages from the report

Blaž Kurnik

Climate change adaptation and

LULUCF group

Four key messages from the report

Climate change impacts:

• Climate change will have some positive effects on the sector due to longer growing seasons and CO2 fertilisation. However, the negative effects will prevail due to the increased number of extreme weather and climate events.

• Climate change inside and outside Europe will affect the price, quantity and quality of products, and consequently trade patterns, which in turn will affect agricultural income in Europe. If proper adaptation measures are applied the agriculture income in Europe will increase.

Four key messages from the report (cont.)

Climate change adaptation:

• The EU strategy on adaptation to climate change and the common agriculture policy have (to some degree) provide framework for adaptation actions in the agriculture sector at EU level. The EU Member States have defined the agriculture sector as a priority in their national adaptation strategies or national adaptation plans.

• Adaptation measures need to be presented not as additional requirements but as solutions to enable farming in Europe to be sustainable in the long run. There are opportunities for implementing a wide variety of existing and proven measures at farm level that aim to improve the management of soils and water, which can provide benefits for adaptation, mitigation, the environment and the economy.

Change in agro-climatic zones

• Northward movement of agro-climatic zones will accelerate in the future

Climate change impacts

Weather and climate extreme events and yields

example 1: frost in 2017

Apples production in Slovenia between 1991 and 2018

Climate change impacts

Weather and climate extreme events and yields

example 2 drought in 2018

Climate change impacts

• Weather and climate extreme events can influence total yield significantly – example 2 drought in 2018

Investments in adaptation increase the agriculture income

• If proper adaptation measures are applied the agriculture income in Europe will increase by up to 5 % under 2 oC scenario by 2050

Adaptation measures at farm level

• Proposed adaptation measures need to be beneficial for mitigation, the environment and the economy

Field margins

Adaptation effect:

reduce wind and water erosion

Mitigation effect:

Increase carbon storage through

retention of sediments and increase

carbon storage in biomass

Biodiversity:

Support fauna and vegetative composition

of margins support pest control

Adaptation measures at farm level

• Proposed adaptation measures need to be beneficial for mitigation, the environment and the economy

Improving pasture and grazing management

Adaptation effect: to reduce soil degradation,

wind and water erosion, increase biomass on

grassland and improve animal conditions

(e.g. heat stress)

Mitigation effect: Introducing grass species

with higher productivity

accelerate atmospheric carbon sequestration

in soils

Biodiversity: impacts on soil ecosystem

services and above-ground and soil biodiversity

Adaptation measures at farm level

• Proposed adaptation measures need to be beneficial for mitigation, the environment and the economy

Precision farming:

Adaptation effect:

decrease the impacts of weather and

climate extremes by optimising the

timing of input applications, for example

fertilisers, pesticides and water.

Mitigation effect: significant reductions in

GHG emissions due to optimisation

Biodiversity: confining all machinery loads

to the smallest possible area

of permanent traffic lanes

The report

• in the final layout stage, publication in Q3/2019

• 18 months of work (inputs from ETC/CCA and FWC)

• 3 rounds of review/consultations

• Approx. 1000 comments from the EIONET consultations