The knowledge and support TA will identify the priority actions to be undertaken by the government of the PRC to reduce methane emissions from agriculture. Climate change adaptation and mitigation is one of the three strategic priorities of ADB's support to the PRC, which underscores the importance of promoting low-carbon development through institutional strengthening and policy reforms.

The PRC government has been actively engaged in the global efforts to address climate change. In 2015, the PRC ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change. In September 2020, President Xi Jinping announced that the PRC will strengthen its nationally determined contributions by aiming to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Climate change adaptation and mitigation is also regarded as a major challenge to the rural vitalization in the PRC. The annual No.1 Central Policy Document on Agriculture and Rural Development released on 22 February 2022 called for integrated solutions to support climate change mitigation and rural vitalization in the PRC.

Agriculture sector accounts for approximately 10% of the total GHG emissions in the PRC. GHG emissions from agriculture sector increased by 18% between 1990 and 2018 and methane emissions from beef and rice production are the major contributors to the growth in GHG emissions. Methane emissions from the agriculture sector account for 42% of the total CH4 emissions in the PRC and around 12%15% of global methane emissions from the agriculture sector. With increasing demand for livestock products in the PRC, methane emissions from the agriculture sector are expected to increase unless the sector adopts new technologies to reduce the intensity of methane emissions through awareness raising and developing enabling institutional and policy environment. At the same time, the reduction of methane emission from agriculture needs be achieved, while ensuing stable food supply to consumers and adequate farm income to producers. Integrated technical and business models are required to reduce emissions from agriculture in a wider rural development context.

Insufficient understanding of challenges and opportunities to mitigate the methane emission from agriculture is a fundamental constraint for the PRC government to develop evidence-based policy strategy and action plan to mitigate methane emissions from agriculture. Moreover, lack of knowledge and capacity to adopt climate-smart technologies at the farm level and to design an integrated policy is a significant constraint to scale up the PRC's efforts to reduce GHG emissions from agriculture. Knowledge sharing activities on domestic and international best practice and focused trainings on climate-smart production practice would enhance agriculture sector's capacity to contribute to the PRC's climate change mitigation target.

ADB Project Officer
Schinn, Dustin S.
East Asia Department

Project contacts not available at the time of disclosure.

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