13. Climate action
Global warming has caused a discernible effect on physical and biological systems.
There are many examples of plant and animal species that have spread across the Netherlands or have withdrawn themselves. Risks of agricultural damage by flooding, drought and /or insect damage may increase. Also, effects of temperature increase are visible, for example in the city (heat island effect).
Examples of WUR projects
50% lower footprint in dairy chains
In a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), we are working to reduce the carbon footprint of milk by 50% by 2030. We are doing this together with dairy chains, feed companies, suppliers of co-products and of robotics and data systems for dairy farmers.
This project answers questions such as: which measures can get you this far? How do you come up with a good plan, also for different farm types? And what does this mean for economy and other sustainability themes?
We aim to develop an approach that is widely applicable and will also become widely available.
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Climate-smart agriculture
Agriculture emits greenhouse gasses and therefore contributes to climate change, but agriculture and food security are also threatened by climate change. The growth of the world population and increase of income levels has resulted in an increased demand for food. Yet, this demand is increasing faster than ever before because the number of middle and high income people in the world is growing rapidly. Climate-Smart Agriculture addresses on the one hand the reduction of the environmental and climate impact of agricultural activity and on the other hand the development of food production methods and crops that are well adapted to changing weather condition.