Between 1990 And 2000 European Agriculture Has Reduced Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions By 64

In the EU-15, the contribution of the agricultural sector to total greenhouse gas emissions is almost 10%. In 2000, agriculture produced 390 Mt CO2 equivalent, a reduction of 6.4% since 1990. The agricultural sector is doing better than the total greenhouse gas emission reduction of 3.5% over the same period. Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture consist primarily of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), greenhouse gases which are many times more powerful than carbon dioxide (CO2). Over the period 1990-2000, methane emissions fell by 7% (with a reduction of methane emissions from enteric fermentation of almost 9%) and nitrous oxide emissions by 5.5%. Over the period 1990-2000, there was a significant reduction in methane emissions in Accession Countries and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture fell by more than 6% in EFTA countries.