Status: The Agriculture Production (Crop and Livestock) is now available for certification.
May 2023: Technical Working Group (TWG) and Industrial Working Group (IWG) Launch
July 2024: Public Consultation
October 2024: Criteria Available for Certification
Previous Criteria Versions:
2021 Agriculture Criteria
Agriculture production, albeit challenging, offers huge potential for strategic climate investments. The updated Agriculture Production (Crop and Livestock) Criteria is a forward-thinking tool designed to drive real change in agriculture, reflecting cutting-edge science and practical market needs.
Despite its complexity, agriculture remains a key sector for climate. Emissions from agrifood systems, account for over a third of global emissions, up to 37% by the latest IPCC estimate. This is not just an environmental challenge—it’s an economic one.
Agriculture offers numerous opportunities for those willing to innovate, with options—agreed by top experts, outlined in our Criteria.
43 commodities make up 90% of the food we eat. One of the key innovations in our Criteria, is the development of science-based pathways for transition plans for each of these 43 commodities. We worked closely with top scientists to ensure these pathways were not only ambitious, but practical.
You can choose which strategies will make more sense in your context. For example, a farm portfolio in China could decarbonise, by shifting to organic nitrogen or green ammonia, while in Brazil they could invest in alternative proteins and reduce livestock size to cut methane.
To stabilise global warming at 1.5ºC, agricultural land must become extremely carbon negative.
The only safe way to achieve it is halting deforestation and transforming farmland into powerful carbon sinks. Data show that including agricultural carbon sinks in mitigation portfolios reduces GHG prices by 48% and increases global GDP by 0.6% in 2050.
These Criteria provide clear and comprehensive actions to help align investments with the climate goals that matter the most.
Technical and Industry Working Group members (listed below) guided the development of the Agriculture Production Criteria, led by the Agrifood Standards team at the Climate Bonds Initiative.
Please be in touch to learn more about the Criteria: agrifoodstandards@climatebonds.net
Get in contact with certification@climatebonds.net to start the certification process.
Climate Bonds Team
Technical Working Group
Industry Working Group
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Alberto Millan (Spain) |
Alice Henry (Netherlands) Farm on App |
Carlos Correa (Brazil) Frigol |
Zhao Zunyang (China) Modern Farming |
Chrissa Borja (Phillippines) ISEAL and GrowAsia |
Gerard Rijik (Netherlands) ISEAL and GrowAsia |
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Hamish MacDonald (Australia) Carbon Asset Solutions |
Hernan Rodriguez Arias (Argentina) ucrop.it |
James Bently (Australia) National Australia Bank |
James Madoc-Jones (UK) Carbon Trust |
Jo Raven (UK) FAIRR Initiative |
Katerina Elias-Trostmann (Brazil) BNP Paribas Brazil |
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| Luis Henrique Veit (Brazil) Sicredi |
Mauricio Benitez (Switzerland) Big Valley GmbH |
Marina Giraldi (Brazil) Frigol |
Mariana Vasconcelos (Brazil) Agrosmart |
Qian Xiao (France) Circular Biocarbon Eco-tech |
Scot Bryson Orbital Farms |
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| Thiago Camargo (Brazil) Data Farm |
Thomas Bouriot (UK) ERBD |
Che Ming (China) Modern Farming |