Forests Could Offset Global Emissions, But Agriculture Lags Behind
The study looked at how we could reduce greenhouse gases from farming and forestry worldwide. They made a new model to see how different ways of using land could affect our efforts to fight climate change. The findings suggest that making forests store more CO2 is the best way to cut emissions from land use globally. But in the U.S. and China, reducing greenhouse gases from farming, especially by using less fertilizer, is important too. Livestock like cows emit a lot of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, so cutting emissions from them is crucial worldwide. The study shows that some ways of reducing emissions may work better in some areas than others, and previous studies may have overestimated how much certain countries can do to fight climate change in farming. So, planning should consider land competition and different ways to cut greenhouse gases from land use.