Agricultural emissions have a significant impact on the overall global carbon budget. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) accounted for approximately 23% of global greenhouse gas emissions from human activities between 2007 and 2016. This includes emissions from deforestation, livestock production, fertilizer use, and other agricultural activities.

In addition to contributing to emissions, agriculture can also play a role in sequestering carbon, or removing it from the atmosphere and storing it in soils, forests, and other ecosystems. For example, sustainable agricultural practices that promote the use of cover crops, reduced tillage, and other soil conservation measures can increase carbon sequestration in soils. Agroforestry practices, which involve growing trees on agricultural land, can also sequester carbon in woody biomass and soils.