Metrics for evaluating climate smart technologies in agriculture are broken

Pesticides’ carbon footprint is massively underestimated. We need better metrics for innovative technologies.

Crop protection does not have one big bad wolf pesticide like fertilizers’ nitrogen. According to phys.org (1, 2) “Manure and synthetic fertilizers emit the equivalent of 2.6 gigatons of carbon per year -more than global aviation and shipping combined.” For impact and climate investors going after one big problem with a significant impact is a no brainer. Calculating reduction of greenhouse gas…