Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agrifood systems are a major contributor to climate change, accounting for about one-third of global emissions (around 16–18 Gt CO₂e per year), from on-farm activities such as livestock, land-use change such as deforestation, and supply chains including processing, transport and waste (further information can be found in related publications here and here). In the EBRD’s countries of operation, the sector often represents a large share of national emissions due to the economic weight of agriculture and less efficient production systems – reaching roughly 30–40 percent in several regions and higher in more agriculture-dependent economies. Reducing these emissions is therefore essential for meeting climate goals while improving productivity and resilience. To address the challenge of limiting GHG emissions from the agrifood sector, the EBRD and FAO will work along three complementary fronts.

First, they will support the development of NCD roadmaps for agrifood systems to help translate climate commitments into concrete actions by identifying priority measures, investment needs and implementation timelines. This is particularly important as the NDC process is increasingly becoming a key mechanism for aligning agrifood systems with long-term decarbonization pathways. The roadmaps will help direct public and private investment towards high-impact solutions such as improved livestock management, more efficient fertilizer use, climate-smart irrigation, and measures to reduce food loss and waste, while also providing clearer policy signals for investors. Through their collaboration, the EBRD and FAO have developed and applied a consistent approach to agrifood NDC planning across multiple countries, including earlier work in Serbia and Uzbekistan. This accumulated experience has demonstrated how structured, evidence-based sectoral planning can effectively inform climate-aligned investment decisions and policy development. Overall, this joint work has contributed – and continues to contribute – to strengthening the integration of agrifood systems within NDCs across EBRD countries, advancing progress toward national climate targets in a coherent and replicable manner. Under the ACES initiative, FAO and the EBRD will focus on the NDC process in Türkiye, helping to advance the country’s agrifood climate agenda and implementation efforts.

Second, FAO and the EBRD will support the advancement of carbon markets as a mechanism to mobilize finance for agrifood decarbonization. In Serbia and Kazakhstan, carbon finance has the potential to generate additional revenue streams for selected mitigation measures in the agrifood sector. While current opportunities are primarily concentrated in voluntary carbon markets, emerging international mechanisms under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) may create new avenues for market participation in the future. Access to these markets requires compliance with increasingly stringent integrity standards to ensure that carbon credits represent genuine, measurable, and verifiable emission reductions while adhering to environmental and social safeguards. Agrifood carbon projects may benefit from growing market demand for high-quality credits that deliver carbon removals and broader Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) co-benefits, potentially commanding premium prices. However, project development can also entail significant implementation costs and complex monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) requirements. Country-specific policy developments further shape these opportunities. In Kazakhstan, which already operates an Emissions Trading System (ETS), domestic offset markets could become an important source of demand if emissions caps are progressively tightened in line with the country’s NDC commitments. In Serbia, the introduction of carbon pricing is being driven by the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and national climate policy objectives, although direct coverage of agrifood emissions remains limited to date. Strengthening carbon market frameworks in both countries can help mobilize private-sector investment, accelerate the adoption of innovative low-carbon practices, and support cost-effective pathways for agrifood decarbonization.

Finally, FAO and the EBRD will focus on insetting, as insetting initiatives are emerging as an important mechanism for reducing emissions within agrifood value chains by financing mitigation activities directly on farms and across supply chains, rather than relying on external offsetting. These approaches can unlock a substantial share of the sector’s mitigation potential through interventions such as improved soil carbon management, methane reduction, and optimized fertilizer use. However, the insetting landscape remains fragmented, with persistent challenges related to measurement, additionality, transparency, and access to finance. To scale credible insetting initiatives and attract greater private-sector investment, it is essential to strengthen Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems, establish robust accounting frameworks, and ensure alignment with evolving carbon market standards and methodologies. Enhanced credibility and traceability of emissions reductions will be critical for enabling companies to integrate insetting into their climate strategies while driving meaningful decarbonization across agrifood value chains.