Relevance

Relevance is about making sure our statistics meet the needs of users.

These data are designated as official statistics in development. They are newly developed statistics undergoing testing.

Agriculture and food production rely on natural processes and consequently will always cause a degree of greenhouse gas emissions, the primary cause of global warming. A high proportion of Scottish emissions are from agriculture.

Agriculture sector and subsector estimates

The publication includes national GHG emissions of agriculture, to give a broader picture of the agricultural sector.

Subsector analysis assigns agricultural emissions to enterprise or activity type. This gives more detail about the emission sources within agriculture. Stakeholder engagement identified a need for the breakdown of agriculture emissions into relevant enterprises.

Farm level GHG emissions and nitrogen use estimates

This report provides greenhouse gas emission estimates and nitrogen use estimates for the average Scottish farm over time. These data complement national level estimates and enterprise specific estimates by providing a view and timeseries of emissions and nitrogen use on farm.

Nitrogen is a key driver of productivity in agriculture given its direct impact on yield.  Nitrogen fertiliser is an expensive input and efficient use is linked to profitability. Nitrogen can also harm the environment and is linked to water pollution, poorer air quality, climate change and damage to natural ecosystems.

The emission and nitrogen use indicators published in ‘Scottish agriculture greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen use’ were selected following a systematic literature review of environmental indicators and metrics that are currently used in farm level surveys and user engagement undertaken in 2023 and 2024.

Findings from stakeholder engagement showed that the most common indicators found in our literature review (absolute emissions and emissions intensity as well as nitrogen use efficiency and nitrogen surplus) also most commonly meet the needs of our users.

Other indicators can be estimated from these data and may be available on demand and considered for future publications. User need was also identified for indicators that that cannot currently be produced as limited data is collected.

The data are under development to continue to improve and understand data quality and ensure that analysis is fit for purpose.

We are pausing farm level average emission and emission intensity estimates after the 2024-25 release while we explore other data sources to improve coverage and better meet user needs. This affects both gross emissions per hectare and emission intensity estimates (the carbon footprint of the main product of an activity or enterprise). We welcome your thoughts in this feedback survey.