Modeling the effects of pasture expansion and yield increase on emissions from land-use change

This paper evaluates the land-use and greenhouse gas emission impact of higher yields in the European Union and a livestock tax in the United States using a global agricultural outlook model and a greenhouse gas model that includes land-use change from cropland and pasture. Both policies are intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by decreasing carbon release from indirect land-use change and lowering livestock emissions. A yield increase in the European Union leads to savings whereas the tax scenario leads to ambiguous results depending on the assumption about extensification and intensification of livestock production.