EVALUATION OF MEASURES FOR MITIGATION OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS SUITABLE FOR LATVIAN AGRICULTURE

It has been estimated that agricultural emissions from crop and livestock production grew from 4.7 billion tons of CO2 equivalent in 2001 to over 5.3 billion tons in 2011, showing a 14 % increase and comprising almost 16 % of the total global anthropogenic emissions of GHG. This trend in agricultural GHG emissions is the response to global changes, such as population growth, diet change, that results in increased food demand. Without additional actions, GHG emissions in agriculture are projected to increase by 35-60 % up to 2030. However, in order to meet international commitments, management practices for reducing these emissions are required. Such global challenges in the sphere of climate change served as the basis for the research aim - to evaluate the measures for mitigation of GHG emissions suitable for Latvian agriculture. In order to meet the set aim, the research focuses on three key aspects: evaluation of the present situation in Latvia regarding GHG emissions in agriculture; theoretical review of mitigation methods; evaluation of the most prominent GHG mitigation measures for Latvian agriculture. The research results showed that many agricultural practices can potentially mitigate GHG emissions through different mechanisms and could be potentially introduced in Latvian agriculture.