The document discusses the Global Research Alliance (GRA), which aims to enhance agricultural greenhouse gas research cooperation between countries. It notes agriculture's role in emissions and food security challenges. The GRA brings countries together to develop mitigation options through improved measurement, understanding of production systems, and access to technologies. Current members include 31 countries and observers. The GRA structure centers research groups in key subsectors and issues, supported by a Secretariat. Initial progress includes stocktaking members' activities, establishing short-term projects, and outreach.

1. Enhancing cooperation
in agricultural
greenhouse gas research
Laura Hogg
New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry

2. The challenges
• Agriculture’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions
• Projected increases in emissions as global demand for food grows
• Agriculture has a part to play in overall mitigation efforts, however…
• It makes up a large proportion of many economies and is a key
contributor to growth and development
• Increasing food production is central to food security
• Mitigation solutions can be difficult to implement
• One-off technological fixes won’t work for agriculture (needs
sustained application of processes and management practices by
millions of individuals (farmers)

3. The opportunities
• In many cases increased productivity and efficiency is
positively correlated with reduced emissions intensity, and
increased resilience and food security
• The good news is that many countries are already investing in
this area and we can leverage this collective effort and make
the best use of resources
• Opens up a wide field for RD&E and better connections with
policy-making

4. The importance of RD&E
• The global agriculture sector needs good information and
viable options
• RD&E is core to this:
- Critical to measurement and estimation of emissions
- Critical to improving our knowledge of production systems
- Helps ensure evidence-based policy making
- The only way we can develop mitigation options that represent
viable, win-win solutions

5. The Alliance
• Brings countries together to find ways to grow more food
without growing greenhouse gas emissions
• Specifically, the Alliance will help:
- Find ways to reduce the emissions intensity of agricultural
production and increase its potential for soil carbon sequestration,
while enhancing food security
- Improve understanding, measurement and estimation of agricultural
emissions
- Improve farmers’ access to agricultural mitigation technologies and
best practices

6. The idea
• Create a global community of scientists, policy makers, farmer
organisations and others
• Strengthen collaboration and leverage collective effort
• Not “science for science’s sake” - outcome focused
• Bottom up and voluntary - recognising each other’s contexts
and drivers
• Links efforts across sub-sectors

7. Membership
Now 31 member countries:
Argentina Ghana Netherlands Spain
Australia India New Zealand Sweden
Canada Indonesia Norway Switzerland
Chile Ireland Pakistan Thailand
Colombia Japan Peru UK
Denmark Malaysia Philippines United States
Finland Mexico Russia Uruguay
France Vietnam
Germany
Observers: Brazil, China, European Commission, Korea, South Africa

8. Structure
At the centre:
• Three Research Groups:
– Livestock (NZ / Netherlands)
– Paddy Rice (Japan)
– Croplands (USA)
• Two cross-cutting issues
– Soil carbon and nitrogen cycling (France / Australia)
– Inventories and measurement (Canada / Netherlands)
Held together by a Charter and supported by a Secretariat

9. A few other details
• Designed to complement and support the work of key
initiatives, e.g. CGIAR
• Is not part of the UNFCCC negotiations
• Does not have a central funding mechanism

10. Progress update
• Stock-take exercise of countries’ activities
• Meetings of the Research Groups (Sept-Nov) and short-term
projects:
– Standardised guidelines and protocols, and best practice manuals
– Information and data sharing networks of genomics experts
– Synthesis papers and database of existing research
• Charter drafting – governance structure and membership
• Outreach to potential new members and other interested
organisations
• Second full meeting (March, France)
• Ministerial Summit and start of “working phase” (June)

11. www.globalresearchalliance.org
secretariat@globalresearchalliance.org