Climate change: the challenges for agriculture

It is believed that most global warming we can now observe is attributable to emissions of GHGs that result from human activities, in particular land use changes such as deforestation, and the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas). Europe has warmed by almost 1 °C in the past century, faster than the global average. Climatic conditions have become more variable. Rainfall and snowfall have significantly increased in northern Europe, while rainfall has fallen considerably and droughts are more frequently experienced over southern Europe. Temperatures have become more extreme (for example the record-breaking 2003 summer heat wave) and floods more common. The changing climate is also a major challenge for agriculture and agricultural policy-making. This fact sheet explains how European Union (EU) agriculture is affected by, and influences, global warming and how the sector and EU agricultural policy can address the double challenge of reducing emissions while at the same time adapting to projected impacts of climate change.