GES’TIM – contributions to the environmental assessment of agricultural activities

Against a backdrop of serious concern regarding climate change and the impact of human activities on the environment, the technical institutes specialising in livestock (Institut de l’élevage, IFIP, ITAVI) and plant research institutes (ARVALIS Institut du Végétal, CETIOM, ITB) sought to provide the methodological tools needed to quantify agriculture’s contribution to the greenhouse effect. The GES’TIM methodological guide was therefore developed to serve as the benchmark for estimating the impact of agricultural activities on the greenhouse effect (quantification of gaseous emissions from livestock and soil, energy consumption, inputs and offsetting through carbon sequestration). The aim is to provide a standardised vocabulary and methodological framework, with emission factors representative of French agricultural production sectors. The aim is to disseminate this framework in order to provide benchmarks for decision-makers, technical staff and farmers, with a view to developing appropriate production strategies in response to the challenge of climate change. GES’TIM is a product of the Casdar initiative ‘Greenhouse gases and carbon sequestration on farms’ (2007–2009).