Climate Disclosure and Target Setting in the Agriculture Sector

This paper analyzes approaches for emissions accounting, target setting, and transparent disclosure of emissions related to agriculture portfolios in Canada. The paper underscores the significant role financial institutions can play in supporting the sector’s transition to net-zero emissions as well as the challenges they face in this complex sector.

Key Insights

• Challenges: The agriculture sector in Canada faces unique hurdles, including fragmented ownership, regional variability, and complex emissions sources like livestock, fertilizer use, and land-use changes.
• Opportunities: Canada’s agriculture sector has already achieved significant gains, including reductions in emissions intensity for beef and dairy. Tools like Holos and frameworks such as SBTi FLAG enable banks to measure, disclose, and set targets for financed emissions.

Path Forward

With just six growing seasons left to achieve the 2030 climate goals Canada, and the world, have set, it is time for financial institutions to work together and with other stakeholders to address these target-setting and data measurement challenges. By aligning with existing industry metrics and each other, lenders can enable and support transition processes for producers, accelerate meaningful emissions reductions, and foster a thriving agricultural sector.

RMI would like to thank the Canadian financial institutions, including Farm Credit Canada, that contributed to this paper