Climate Change and Land: Special Report on Climate Change, Desertification, Land Degradation, Sustainable Land Management
About this book
Climate Change and Land: An IPCC Special Report on Climate Change, Desertification, Land Degradation, Sustainable Land Management, Food Security, and Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Terrestrial Ecosystems (SRCCL), published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2019, is the first IPCC report to focus specifically on the intersection of land systems and climate change. Compiled by 107 coordinating lead authors, lead authors, and review editors from 52 countries, the report synthesises approximately 7,000 peer-reviewed publications to provide a definitive assessment of the two-way relationship between land use and the climate system. The report's central finding is that land is simultaneously a victim of climate change and a potential solution to it.
Land currently absorbs approximately 29% of all CO₂ emissions through net terrestrial ecosystem uptake, making it the largest single carbon sink alongside the oceans. However, land-use change (principally deforestation and agricultural expansion) and agricultural production practices (enteric fermentation from livestock, flooded rice paddies, nitrogen fertiliser application) together account for approximately 23% of human greenhouse gas emissions, placing the land sector as the second largest emissions source after the energy sector. Agricultural and food systems receive particular attention.
The report examines the full supply chain contribution to emissions — from land clearing and synthetic fertiliser production through food processing, refrigerated transport, retail, and consumer food waste — estimating that food systems as a whole contribute 21-37% of total global GHG emissions. The shift toward meat-heavy diets in rapidly developing economies is examined as both a driver of land-use change and a significant leverage point for mitigation. Desertification and land degradation are quantified at global scale.
The report estimates that approximately 22-27% of the world's ice-free land area has experienced declining productivity in the past 50 years, with economic losses of approximately $231-$1.3 trillion annually. Climate change is projected to increase desertification risk substantially in the Mediterranean basin, southern Africa, south Asia, and Australia. Land-based mitigation options — afforestation, reforestation, soil carbon sequestration, biochar application, reduced deforestation, and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) — are assessed for their mitigation potential alongside their implications for food security, water resources, and biodiversity.
The report cautions against over-reliance on large-scale land-based mitigation that could compete with food production and biodiversity conservation.