Crop Protection Association (CPA) chief executive Dominic Dyer has called on global leaders meeting in Copenhagen to put agriculture at the heart of the debate, and recognise the vital role of innovative crop production tools - including pesticides - in meeting the combined challenges of climate change and food security.

Highlighting the findings of a new report by Cranfield University¹, Mr Dyer said the yield benefit of modern crop protection products offered net CO₂ savings, and that pesticides were a relatively minor contributor to overall greenhouse gas emissions.

The Cranfield report was commissioned by CPA to review published research into the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the manufacture and use of pesticides. It concluded that, on average, the manufacture and use of pesticides account for just 3% of the 100-year Global Warming Potential of crop production. Researchers also found that the yield increases attributed to pesticide use allow at least a tenfold saving in CO₂ equivalent per hectare relative to the CO₂ emitted as a consequence of producing pesticides.

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