Over 50 policies, at various levels. affect GHG emissions in the food chain. Here are the main ones..

International

Kyoto Protocol requires all those countries who have ratified the Convention (inc EU & Russia, but excluding USA, China & India) to meet targets of greenhouse gas emissions, that are based on emissions in 1990. Kyoto Protocol in Full

EU Targets

The EU has committed itself to reduce GHGs by 20% in 2020 compared to 1990 levels. This target was then distributed between Member States. Full details from European Climate Change and what the EU is doing about Agriculture and Climate Change. EU Agriculture GHG statistics. If agriculture contributes 9% of all EU GHGs, why isn't agriculture part of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)? Under a future EU ETC starting in 2012, member states will receive binding national emissions targets for agriculture, with richer countries receiving stricter targets than poorer ones. More from Business Week.

Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC)

CRC is a scheme announced in the Energy White Paper 2007. It will: 'apply mandatory emissions trading to cut carbon emissions from large commercial and public sector organisations (including supermarkets, hotel chains, government departments, large local authority buildings) by 1.1 MtC / year by 2020'. Conference presentations

Standard for Carbon Emissions from Food

A new standard for measuring embodied greenhouse gases in products and services could help food manufacturers reduce their carbon footprint. The new Publicly Available Standard (PAS) will be developed through four manufacturing case studies: a chilled ready meal, a bread product, a cheese product and a fresh juice. More from FoodProduction

Companies

Heinz set goal to reduce GHGs by 20% by 2015.

Review

Work out the amount of carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the food you produce! (Various retailers are working on a number of products including strawberries, raspberries grown in UK v Spain etc...)