May 2020

It has been estimated that the agricultural sector may account for up to 24% of the greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) that contribute to climate change globally.

Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing have published a new title that reviews the key research available on addressing this major challenge.

Climate change and agriculture highlights the advancements made in predicting the effects of agriculture and climate change on one another.

Whilst the sector contributes to climate change, it's similarly known that agriculture is greatly affected by climate change. As explained by the European Environment Agency, all crops require a certain quality of soil, water, sunlight and heat to grow to their maximum potential. With the increase of air temperatures, the traditional growing seasons of key crops have been affected. For example, the flowering and harvesting of cereal crops is occurring earlier in the season than originally projected.

Professor Mark Howden, Director - Climate Change Institute, Australian National University; Vice Chair - IPCC Working Group II, discusses the scale of the problem and the importance of the new title below:

"The challenges ahead for agriculture globally are substantial and growing: feeding an increasingly populous and hungrier world whilst managing increased risks from climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and operating in ways that enhance ecosystem services. The highly experienced editor and authors of this book bring together a comprehensive coverage of these issues and their potential resolution."

The book is edited by Dr Delphine Deryng and is sectioned into three parts:

• Part 1 The impacts of climate change on agriculture
• Part 2 The contribution of agriculture to climate change
• Part 3 Adaption and mitigation strategies in agriculture 

Dr Deryng is a Climate Policy Analyst at the New Climate Institute based in Berlin, Germany since May 2020, focusing primarily on global climate actions in the agriculture and forestry sector. Dr. Deryng is also a Guest Researcher at the Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems (IRI THESys) at Humboldt-University of Berlin.