Analysis of Marginal Abatement Cost Curve for N2O Emissions including local environmental factors

Ireland is committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 25% by 2030 while ensuring that production levels remain consistent. The Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) approach provides a framework for evaluating potential mitigation options within the agricultural sector. Although it offers significant advantages, its main limitation is the minimal consideration of the farm’s biophysical environment, which facilitates a robust national analysis but provides limited insights at regional or local levels. Our method involves developing a bottom-up MACC approach that includes the farm’s local environmental conditions. This approach will improve the assessment of cost-effective mitigation strategies in agriculture. To apply our proposal, we use estimations at the farm level of N2O emissions by employing emission factors (EF) specific to the local context. The EF considered the pertinent local environmental conditions related to the farm’s production performance. Our regional-level analysis shows that considering local environmental conditions improves the effectiveness of GHG reduction strategies while supporting sustainable farming. The findings emphasise that mitigation costs vary by farm location, helping identify the most efficient strategies for different environments and farm types.