Search

Agriculture ranks among the key sectors responsible for substantially rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The increase in emissions contributes to the adverse effects of climate change, including threats to biodiversity, the potential for extreme weather events, elevated sea levels, and alterations to ocean currents. The European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a comprehensive framework that aims to achieve sustainability and advance the agricultural sector’s journey towards climate neutrality by addressing social, economic, and environmental goals. The study aims to evaluate Latvia’s Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan (CAP SP) and to evaluate the impact of the policy. The goal of the study is to determine which objectives are more likely to succeed based on the overall state of Latvia’s agricultural sector and by evaluating the provided information in Latvia’s CAP. The assessment of the CAP SP reveals that there are clear and specific metrics in place for the high-impact goals, particularly those related to addressing climate change and managing resources. According to the TOPSIS analysis, the climate change (SO4) and environmental care (SO5) objectives demonstrate the most significant impact. Objectives associated with European Union policies, such as the National Energy and Climate Plan, European Green Deal, and Farm to Fork strategy, are more likely to succeed than objectives not connected to these or similar policies.

In the light of the Green Deal and its ‘Farm to Fork’ and ‘Biodiversity’ strategies, the EU aims to find new ways to decrease GHG emissions through the EU Carbon Farming initiative stating that farming practices that remove CO2 from the atmosphere should be rewarded in line with the development of new EU business models. The Carbon farming initiative is a new approach and concludes that carbon farming can significantly contribute to climate change mitigation. As European Commission acknowledges that carbon farming is in its infancy and there is a lot to be addressed, in the years towards 2030, result-based carbon farming plots and schemes should be settled by the Member States and local governments; therefore, the existing solutions for reducing emissions through improved farming practices should be defined for each region. The research identifies carbon farming solutions in the agriculture sector – minimal/zero tillage, carbon sequestration in soils, biogas and biomethane production, perennial plant growing, and agroforestry and described.

100 cities in Europe have committed to being pioneers and achieving climate neutrality by 2030. It is crucial to start with the decarbonization of cities because, although they cover only 3 % of the Earth’s land, they produce 72 % of all greenhouse gas emissions. This paper contributes to the city decarbonization research but on a smaller scale. We study the decarbonization potential of a university campus. It is a unique part of a larger urban area. It represents a cross-section of the population of different socio-economic backgrounds and ages, generating irregular schedules and constant movements of people and goods throughout the day. Riga Technical University is one of the pioneer universities in Latvia that has decided to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. This study aims to provide a qualitative review of the potential for improvements and describe the preliminary CO2 simulation model that includes Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions. A particular challenge is the Scope 3 emissions, which focus on changing user habits. A survey of Riga Technical University students and employees was developed and conducted to analyse the most effective solutions for this type of emission. Survey results and future work recommendations are presented together with the model outline.

Latvia, like many other European Member States, faces major challenges in achieving climate goals within the Paris Agreement – emission reduction for 50–55 % by 2030 and net-zero emission economy by 2050. Decarbonization of the energy sector is one of the main aims and sustainable use of biogas is one of the ways to reach these targets. Although the biogas sector in Latvia is now mainly based on the production of electricity and heat in cogeneration plants, often using specially grown energy crops, and payments of the mandatory procurement component have expired, biogas plants are preparing for reconstruction for the production of biomethane with the help of European fund investments.

Production of biogas using bioresources of agricultural origin plays an important role in Europe’s energy transition to sustainability and to a climate-neutral economy. The usage of some substrates like maize has been increasingly denounced in the last years and there is currently an active discussion about future subsidies to biogas producers depending on the substrate used. The aim of this study is to compare and rank different substrates for biogas production considering their economic feasibility, substrate efficiency and environmental aspects. During the research, eight substrates were evaluated: cattle manure, pig manure, poultry manure, straw, wood, maize silage, waste, and sewage sludge. In order to reach the research goal, multi-criteria analysis using TOPSIS methodology was applied to objectively determine which of the substrates considered would be the most suitable for biogas production in Latvia. The results obtained showed that pig manure is the most suitable raw material for biogas production in Latvia, while poultry manure was ranked second, with little difference in value from pig manure.

Peatlands can become valuable resources and greenhouse gas sinks through the use of different management practices. Peatlands provide carbon sequestration; however, they are also among the greatest greenhouse gas emissions sources. The estimated annual carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from peat worldwide are 220 million tons. Novel strategies, methods, and technologies must be developed to enhance the sustainable use of peatlands and achieve climate targets by 2050, as set forth by the European Commission. There is no consensus in the scientific literature on which strategies included in the policy documents are more fruitful for reducing emissions. There are uncertainties and knowledge gaps in the literature that summarise the cons and benefits of each strategy regarding the potential of GHG emission reduction. Currently, peat is undervalued as a resource in the bioeconomy and innovation—a way that could save costs in peatland management. This review paper aims to analyse existing and potential strategies to minimise greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands. Studies show significant debates in the literature on whether the rewetting of peatlands and afforestation of previously drained peatlands can be defined as restoration. A more effective management of peatland restoration should involve combining restoration methods. The rewetting of peatlands should be realised in combination with top-soil removal to minimise methane emissions. The rewetting of peatlands should be used only in combination with revegetation after rewetting. One of the promising solutions for methane emission reduction could be paludiculture using sphagnum species. Products from paludiculture biomass can reduce GHG emissions and store long-term emissions in products. Paludiculture can also be the solution for further income for landowners and innovative products using the biomass of harvested paludiculture plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an integral part of the EU's Green Deal, the purpose of the bioeconomy is to ensure an effective transition to meet people's needs based on renewable resources while maintaining economic growth. This study undertakes the modeling of bioresource value scenarios in the agricultural sector and proposes a methodology to evaluate the possibilities of reaching a higher added value of bioresource products. The main objective of the study is the adaptation of the market allocation–energy flow optimization model system (TIMES) for analysis of high-value-added product production capacities in the livestock sector to reach an increase in added value for 2030 with the introduction of new technologies. The developed model is tested in a case study of the animal husbandry sector in Latvia. The results show which pathways are economically feasible to achieve value-added targets set for 2030. Although not all of the available resources are used due to local market limitations, there is significant potential for the use of animal husbandry resource waste, and it is possible to achieve about 62% higher cumulative added value from 2023 to 2030 with the production of new products (protein powder, wool pellets, and gelatin) in comparison with the base scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agricultural sector's progress toward climate neutrality is of great importance not only in the climate, but also in economic and social contexts. Climate-neutral agriculture is highly dependent on innovations that ensure maximum efficient farming, which not only reduces emissions but also ensures competitiveness in the market; all of this is fundamentally influenced by well-considered policies. Due to the complicated structure of the sector, it tends to be very difficult or even impossible to determine the real obstacles that delay the progress of sustainable farming. Therefore, this research aims to create a system dynamics model using Latvia as a case study, which would not only provide an insight into the system's structure, but also identify the system's weak links and allow for the development of recommendations. The model can calculate not only the generated emissions per unit of production, but also the investments required to reduce 1 kt of CO2eq generated, and results could help policymakers in any country to make rational, non-controversial decisions simultaneously in the context of economic and Green Deal objectives. The results of the study demonstrate that to increase economic competitiveness and reduce emissions in agriculture, the most important aspect is the ability to invest in innovations and new technologies that would achieve not only the lowest emissions, but also high productivity and competitiveness in the market. The research shows that the strategic documents emphasize manure management and improvement of feed quality, but there is an important element missing—an emphasis on thermoregulation improvements for animals. By improving feed quality, manure management, and thermoregulation all together, there was a 60% GHG emission reduction without reducing—and even significantly increasing—milk yield. In addition, in a comprehensive improvement of the new innovations, the case study company managed to increase milk yield by 69%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]