Food systems contribute unequivocally to climate change through direct emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for energy, deforestation, loss of soil carbon, biogenic methane and other gases, production of fertilisers and other inputs, and downstream supply chain activities such as transport and packaging. Collectively, food systems account for up to a third of anthropogenic emissions. Government, non-governmental, and industry-led efforts have recently focused on reduction targets, substantiating claims, and identifying meaningful actions to support transitions to cleaner energy and lower emissions.
Aquaculture production accounts for four per cent of global GHG emissions. Emissions vary markedly across species and systems, including production of feed and deforestation in feed supply chains, destruction of climate-critical habitats such as mangroves, and high energy needs for land-based production (e.g., ponds, recirculating aquaculture systems). In addition to the direct and indirect reduction opportunities, the largest contribution of the industry to combatting climate change may be via expanding production of low-emission products to replace high-emission land-based animal protein sources such as beef and lamb.
High-quality, transparent, consistent data are needed to inform reductions, track progress towards targets, and support initiatives by processors, retailers, and governments. To date, understanding of GHG emissions and energy intensity of aquaculture has relied on published studied with mixed methods and uneven coverage. Access to up-to-date, regularly collected and reported farm data is necessary. Farm certification can play a critical role in connecting producers, retailers, and other actors along the supply chain to improve data availability while also helping to ensure transparency, consistency, and verification.
Here we present an overview of the energy use and GHG requirements in the Aquaculture Stewardship Council’s new Farm Standard, the basis for their development, approach to implementation, and expected contributions to industry and academia. These requirements include farm input record-keeping, emissions accounting, and reporting across all farmed species and all production methods. The requirements extend to include target-setting relative to established benchmarks and implementation of management plans to address recognized drivers of emissions and work towards those targets. Together these requirements will support efforts by producers, processors, retailers, and other stakeholders in working towards climate solutions and transitioning towards climate-responsible food systems.