When it comes to crops, rice is the biggest emitter of methane, responsible for more than 10% of agriculture’s gas emissions. At the world’s biggest rice research centre in the Philippines, scientists are finding ways to cut the grains carbon footprint by breeding new varieties that could withstand climate change.
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00:00Rice feeds 4 billion people every day.
00:18Growing enough to feed 56% of the world's population has always been a challenge.
00:24Now there's another, cutting its carbon footprint.
00:32Rice is responsible for 10% of the world's methane emissions.
00:38It is a big number, isn't it?
00:40Yes, it is a big number.
00:41We have to put into context as well that rice is growing on almost 160 million hectares.
00:49Dr Adno Radnelson works with hundreds of rice scientists here at IRRI, the International
00:55Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, finding climate solutions for farmers.
01:01Dr Yvonne Pinto is the Director General.
01:05What are the priorities here?
01:06Is climate change number one?
01:08I would say climate change is certainly number one right now.
01:11I think the, I'm speaking as someone who's sitting in an island nation or a network of
01:17islands, the number of climate related shocks and their severity is increasing and it's
01:25really impacting everybody.
01:29IRRI's agronomists devise farming methods to reduce rice's emissions, while its plant
01:34breeders develop new varieties for hotter, wetter, saltier and drier conditions caused
01:40by climate change.
01:42It's a good responsibility.
01:43Everybody needs to take that responsibility, right?
01:46I feel happy to carry it, I have no problem.
01:50Actually I'm fortunate to carry it, so I'm happy.
01:56Growing rice produces the three most potent greenhouse gases – methane, CH4, nitrous
02:03oxide, NTO, and carbon dioxide, CO2.
02:08The main culprit, methane, is emitted by bacteria living in oxygen-free, flooded soils.
02:16Nitrous oxide from fertiliser and CO2 from burning rice stubble.
02:21Dr Radnilson's projects target all three gases.
02:27In this trial, emissions are captured every 30 minutes.
02:32We estimate how much methane is inside and emitted from the plant, how much nitrous oxide
02:39is emitted and how much CO2 as well at the same time.
02:43Her team's proven a decades-old water-saving practice of alternate wetting and drying of
02:48paddy soils lowers emissions.
02:51It's ranged between 30 to 70 per cent, and in average we say it's 50 per cent.
02:58But that's already quite significant, right?
03:0030 per cent of reduction, that's our target by 2030.
03:04And then when you get to 70 per cent, that's way more than what we can expect.
03:09It's now a leading tool in climate mitigation.