Global emissions from crop and livestock agriculture have risen from 4.7 billion tonnes CO2 equivalent in 2001 to more than 5.3 billion today, an increase of more than 14%.

Organic agriculture can help to tackle climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. There is a direct correlation between nitrous oxide emissions and the amount of nitrogen fertilizer applied to agricultural land.

Nitrous oxide emissions from managed soils account for almost 40% of agricultural emissions in the EU. This is particularly important because the impact of 1 kilo of nitrous oxide on warming the atmosphere is about 300 times greater than the impact of 1 kilo of carbon dioxide.

Because organic farming does not allow the use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, focusing instead on establishing closed nutrient cycles, minimising losses via runoff, volatilization, and emissions, nitrogen levels on organic farms tend to be lower per hectare than on conventional farms which can contribute to a sustainable climate-friendly production system that delivers enough food.