FBSciences Technologies Prove the Power to Decrease Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 37%

With the launch of their Climate Impact Report, FBSciences, a global leader in the innovation, development, and commercialization of biologicals for agriculture and food production, announces groundbreaking capability of FBS Technologies to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 37%. This remarkable reduction in agricultural GHG emissions will substantially impact the climate change mitigation potential of the agriculture industry. This mitigation strategy joins FBSciences' proven climate adaptation benefits forming their global climate impact.

The agriculture industry is the largest single contributor to GHG emissions, accounting for 30% of global emissions when considering agriculture, land-use change, and the global food system. Agricultural biologicals have exploded on the market due to their ability to be both compelling drivers of productivity as well as sustainable solutions for stress adaptation. FBSciences has invested millions of dollars in research proving the climate-positive benefits of their technologies, growing healthier plants better able to withstand biotic and abiotic stress, with an average 15% increase in yield, and a 25% average yield increase in stress conditions related to climate change, including drought, salt, frost, cold, and excess rain. Through 15 years and over 1500 independent trials, FBSciences has discovered that their technologies, and more broadly agricultural biologicals, are also powerful tools for mitigating GHG emissions.

FBSciences' climate mitigation strategy focuses on two key areas. First, a 33% increase in N use efficiency drives a 32% decrease in nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. N2O emissions are 300 times more potent a contributor to climate change than carbon dioxide (CO2), meaning any reduction in agricultural N2O emissions has a significant impact. Though N2O emissions account for only 10% of global GHG emissions, three-quarters of these come from agriculture, the majority of which are caused by excess nitrogen from fertilized soils which is not taken up by plants but instead converted to N2O gas, which then escapes into the atmosphere. This 32% reduction in N2O emissions with FBSciences Technologies, when applied to every acre of global cereal grain crops (46% of cropland), represents a 4% annual reduction in overall agricultural GHG emissions.

The second key area of FBSciences' climate mitigation strategy is centered on a reduction in CO2 emissions. CO2 emissions account for 80% of total GHG emissions, representing a massive and intractable problem. The central tenet of reducing agricultural CO2 emissions is an increase in above- and below-ground biomass in plants, which can capture and hold more organic carbon for hundreds of years. FBSciences Technologies build soils that can better sequester carbon by increasing above-ground biomass by 8%, below-ground biomass by 15%, and root exudate production by 14%. These three components cumulatively increase soil carbon by 10% and lead to a 10% reduction in CO2 emissions. That is equivalent to reducing average annual global agricultural emissions by 33%, for a total GHG reduction of 37% (4% N2O reduction + 33% CO2 reduction), marking a substantial impact on global GHG emissions.

"The groundbreaking findings that FBSciences' biological technologies can reduce agricultural GHG emissions by 37% marks a huge opportunity for agricultural biologicals to take their place as a powerful mainstream tool in climate change mitigation," said Courtenay Wolfe, Chair & CEO of FBSciences. "The health of our climate is deteriorating rapidly, and the agriculture industry must take this opportunity to help make a real difference. Agricultural biologicals can make a significant impact on both climate change adaptation and mitigation while also improving productivity and ROI for growers."

FBSciences is committed to leading the way in innovations in climate-smart agriculture and advocating for the use of agricultural biologicals as a vital tool in the fight against climate change. To learn more, read FBSciences' Climate Impact Report.