The document discusses the critical interconnections between biodiversity, climate change, and agriculture, emphasizing the need for coherent approaches to address these issues. It outlines specific targets related to habitat loss, sustainable management of agricultural areas, pollution reduction, and enhancing ecosystem resilience as part of broader climate change mitigation efforts. The document also highlights the importance of policy measures to mitigate the impacts of climate change and the interconnected nature of environmental challenges.

1. BIODIVERSITY, CLIMATE
CHANGE AND
AGRICULTURE: TOWARDS
COHERENT APPROACHES
Simon Buckle, Head of Climate, Biodiversity and Water Division
Environment Directorate
OECD workshop
25 October 2017

2. • Biodiversity and agriculture linkages
• Climate change and agriculture
• The need for coherent approaches
Overview

3. Land-use change and agriculture is a
key pressure on biodiversity
OECD Environment Directorate
Tilman et al. (2017), “Future threats to biodiversity and pathways to their prevention”, Nature, 546.

4. Issues embedded in Aichi Targets for
2020: further progress needed
Target 5 : rate of loss of all natural habitats, including forests, is at least
halved and where feasible brought close to zero, and degradation and
fragmentation is significantly reduced
Target 7 : areas under agriculture, aquaculture and forestry are managed
sustainably, ensuring biodiversity conservation
Target 8 : pollution, including from excess nutrients, has been brought to
levels that are not detrimental to ecosystem function and biodiversity
Target 15 : ecosystem resilience and the contribution of biodiversity to carbon
stocks has been enhanced, … thereby contributing to climate change
mitigation and adaptation…

5. GHG emissions projections for SSP
Baseline scenarios compared to RCPs
Riahi, K., Van Vuuren, D.P., Kriegler, E., Edmonds, J., O’neill, B.C., Fujimori, S., Bauer, N.,
Calvin, K., Dellink, R., Fricko, O. and Lutz, W., 2017. The shared socioeconomic pathways
and their energy, land use, and greenhouse gas emissions implications: an
overview. Global Environmental Change, 42, pp.153-168.

6. IPCC AR5 GHG emissions pathways
Peak around 2020
Steep emissions
reductions Zero or negative emissions
Source: IPCC (2013) WG1 SPM

7. Negative emissions technologies
Smith,P.,Davis,S.J.,Creutzig,F.,Fuss,S.,Minx,J.,Gabrielle,
B.,Kato,E.,Jackson,R.B.,Cowie,A.,Kriegler,E.andVan
Vuuren,D.P.,2016.Biophysicalandeconomiclimitstonegative
CO2emissions.NatureClimateChange,6(1),pp.42-50.

8. • As CO2 levels and temperature rises, this affects
ability of some reservoirs to take up CO2
(increases and decreases)
• Difficult to quantify and manage
• Policy to limit impacts of these feedbacks on
climate change include (Prentice 2015):
– Avoid deforestation (keep stocks and maintain ability
of existing forests to take up new CO2 emissions)
– Limit over-use of fertilisers because of the long-term
effects of N2O [linked N and C-cycles]
Biosphere feedbacks

9. Issues are interlinked…
Solutions need to be too
Source: Waage G et al, The Lancet,
2015, Governing the UN Sustainable
Development Goals:
interactions, infrastructures, and
institutions