Brazilian greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are projected to reach 3.2 gigatonnes (CO₂ eq.) by 2020. The government has made a voluntary commitment to reduce this figure by 40 per cent. A reduction in deforestation and livestock mitigation measures are key components of this commitment. Focusing on the Cerrado core (central Brazilian Savannah), we analyse abatement potential and cost-effectiveness of GHG mitigation measures applicable to livestock production. We focus on the role of intensification measures, particularly pasture restoration and animal performance to meet the objectives of increasing beef production to meet higher demand, while simultaneously reducing emissions.

Climate change is expected to have numerous and complex impacts on water resources, with consequences for agricultural production through changes in crop water requirements; the availability and quality of water; and increases in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events such as droughts and floods. Although there is substantial uncertainty about the magnitude of impacts, especially at the local level, this does not call for inaction.

By 2050, the global demand for land and water for agricultural use is projected to increase. Climate change is likely to affect agricultural production through increased temperatures as well as through altered precipitation patterns, which are likely to increase water deficiency in many regions. Measures seeking to increase water efficiency and resilience of the agricultural sector to climate change will therefore be critical. The benefits of more efficient irrigation systems are especially apparent in regions already suffering from water shortages, such as the Mediterranean Basin, or those that are likely to suffer in the future, such as the Southern Cone of South America.

Agricultural economists recognise that climate change is one of the key challenges of our time. Yet, the carbon footprint of research activities has received little attention to date. Air travel from and to academic conferences is a major contributor to the carbon footprint of researchers. This article calculates the carbon emissions due to air travel of the 14^th Congress of the European Association of Agricultural Economists (EAAE) in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2014 and proposes strategies to reduce them. Total CO₂ emissions are estimated at around 300 tonnes or 0.5 tonne per participant. There are, however, large differences between participants, with 10 per cent of the participants accounting for 50 per cent of the emissions. Strategies to reduce the carbon footprint of the Congress are considered. Reducing the number of participants from non-European countries that attend the conference could significantly reduce emissions.

In response to growing societal and environmental challenges, the concept of the bioeconomy has emerged in Europe, shifting society away from fossil fuels to utilising renewable biological resources to meet food, feed, fuel and material needs. The bioeconomy poses unique questions for governing stakeholders, with a need to simultaneously consider issues of food, fuel and resource security, competition for biomass supply, environmental degradation, climate change, economic growth and rural development. It thus represents one of the most politically complex areas facing agri-food and rural resource sectors internationally. Further development of the bioeconomy and its impact on society will depend on how it is governed.

Brazil's agricultural sector has grown rapidly over the past 20 years, but two reservations have been frequently expressed with respect to the country's development model. The first is that the benefits of agricultural growth have accrued principally to a narrow group of large-scale commercial farmers, while smaller-scale traditional farmers, and the rural economy more generally, have languished. A second concern relates to the environmental footprint of agricultural development, and in particular agriculture's contribution to the loss of rainforest. This article suggests that future growth can be reconciled with rapid poverty reduction and improved environmental sustainability.

European rural landscapes are in transition due to macro changes in climate, agriculture and public policy, combined with various forms of urbanisation. These changes are affecting the resource basis of agriculture, the socio-cultural identity of rural communities, and are challenging the policy regimes affecting European landscapes.

In the 2014–20 CAP, environment is targeted through a combination of measures in both Pillar 1, through cross-compliance and green payments, and Pillar 2, mainly through voluntary measures with compensation for cost incurred and income forgone. The European Commission's legislative proposals for the CAP after 2020 would suppress green payments but their objectives would be retained as part of new conditionality requirements. A new environmental instrument would be introduced in Pillar 1, the ‘eco-scheme’, and the CAP would be implemented through national strategic plans offering Member States large room for manoeuvre in application of the principle of subsidiarity.

To reach the goal of keeping global temperature rise below 2°C this century while maintaining economic growth, countries will need to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) per unit of output (emission intensity) in all sectors of the economy. For the agricultural sector, however, lowering emissions has to be accompanied by output expansion to meet increasing food demand from a growing and wealthier global population.