forbidden words: climate smart agriculture

climate smart agriculture

from worldbank.org

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is an integrated approach to managing landscapes—cropland, livestock, forests and fisheries–that address the interlinked challenges of food security and climate change.

Overview

Climate change and food and nutrition insecurity pose two of the greatest development challenges of our time. Yet a more sustainable food system can not only heal the planet, but ensure food security for all.

Today, the global agrifood system emits one-third of all emissions. Global food demand is estimated to increase to feed a projected global population of 9.7 billion people by 2050. Traditionally, the increase in food production has been linked to agricultural expansion, and unsustainable use of land and resources. This creates a vicious circle, leading to an increase in emissions. 

Food systems are the leading source of methane emissions and biodiversity loss, and they use around 70% of fresh water. If food waste were a country, it would be the third highest emitter in the world. Meanwhile, emissions from agriculture are increasing in developing countries – a worrying trend which must be reversed.

Without significant climate mitigation action in the agri-food sector, the Paris Agreement goals cannot be reached. Agriculture is the primary cause of deforestation, threatening pristine ecosystems such as the Amazon and the Congo Basin. Without action, emissions from food systems will rise even further, with increasing food production.

Achieving the Triple Win of CSA

The global agrifood system must therefore deliver on multiple fronts. It must feed the world, adapt to climate change, and drastically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. In response to these challenges, the concept of Climate-smart Agriculture (CSA) has emerged as a holistic approach to end food security and promote sustainable development while addressing climate change issues.

CSA is a set of agricultural practices and technologies which simultaneously boost productivity, enhance resilience and reduce GHG emissions. Although it is built on existing agricultural knowledge, technologies, and sustainability principles, CSA is distinct in several ways. First, it has an explicit focus on addressing climate change in the agrifood system. Second, CSA systematically considers the synergies and tradeoffs that exist between productivity, adaptation, and mitigation. And third, CSA encompasses a range of practices and technologies that are tailored to specific agro-ecological conditions and socio-economic contexts including the adoption of climate-resilient crop varieties, conservation agriculture techniques, agroforestry, precision farming, water management strategies, and improved livestock management. By implementing these practices, triple win results can be achieved:

1.    Increased productivity: Produce more and higher quality food without putting an additional strain on natural resources, to improve nutrition security and boost incomes, especially for 75 percent of the world’s poor who live in rural areas and mainly rely on agriculture for their livelihoods.

2.    Enhanced resilience: Reduce vulnerability to droughts, pests, diseases and other climate-related risks and shocks; and improve the capacity to adapt and grow in the face of longer-term stresses like increased seasonal variability and more erratic weather patterns.

3.    Reduced emissions: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions of the food system, avoid deforestation due to cropland expansion, and increase the carbon sequestration of plants and soils.

Finally, funding for CSA needs to be increased to align available finance with the relevance of the sector. Despite causing one third of global greenhouse gas emissions, agrifood systems receive 4% of climate finance, with only a fifth of this going to smallholders. Current financial flows need to be realigned in order to support a sustainable agrifood system transformation. 

Climate-Smart Agriculture and the World Bank Group

The World Bank has significantly scaled up its engagement and investment in climate-smart agriculture (CSA). In its Climate Change Action Plan (2021- 2025), the World Bank has identified Agriculture, Food, Water and Land as one of the five key transitions needed to tackle the Paris Agreement. Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the World Bank has increased financing for CSA by eight times, to almost $3 billion annually.

As of July 2023, all new World Bank operations must be aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement, meaning that CSA is at the core of all the World Bank’s new agriculture and food operations. To this end, the World Bank has prepared a Sector Note of Paris Alignment of its Agriculture and Food operations. Furthermore, all projects are screened for climate and disaster risks. Climate change indicators are used to measure outputs and outcomes, and greenhouse gas accounting of projects is conducted prior to approval . These actions will help client countries implement their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in the agriculture sector, and will contribute to progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for climate action, poverty, and the eradication of hunger.

The World Bank engages strategically with countries, supporting them to enhance productivity, improve resilience and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The World Bank uses the following tools, diagnostics and other analytics to help countries in the transition towards sustainable agriculture.

• Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs), new core diagnostics, help countries prioritize the most impactful actions that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and boost adaptation, while delivering on broader development goals. CCDRs identify climate impacts on countries’ agrifood systems, such as reduced yields and increased food prices, and present a variety of country-specific technology options as well as policy reforms under the umbrella of CSA.
• Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) Country Profiles developed by the World Bank and  partners,  give an overview of the agricultural challenges in countries around the world, and how CSA can help them adapt to and mitigate climate change. They bridge knowledge gaps by providing clarity on CSA terminology, components, relevant issues, and how to contextualize them under different country conditions.
• Climate-Smart Agriculture Investment Plans (CSAIPs) developed for a subset of client countries aim to mainstream CSA into national agricultural policies and to identify investment opportunities in CSA. The World Bank provides technical assistance and financial support to help countries develop and implement CSAIPs. These plans prioritize investments in climate-resilient infrastructure, capacity building, and knowledge sharing to promote sustainable agricultural practices. CSAIPs are available, or currently under preparation, for Bangladesh, Belize,  Burkina Faso, Cote D’Ivoire, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Nepal, Senegal, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
• The World Bank also supports research programs such as with the CGIAR, which develops and supports climate-smart technologies and management methods, early warning systems, risk insurance, and other innovations that promote resilience and combat climate change.”

Working Toward Resilience and Food and Nutrition Security, while Curbing GHG Emissions

The Bank’s support of CSA is making a difference across the globe, for example:

• A new US$345 million loan for the China Green Agricultural and Rural Revitalization Program for Results will support China’s global public goods agenda by promoting the greening of agriculture and rural development in Hubei and Hunan provinces in central China. The program will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from crop and livestock farming, increase carbon sequestration in farmlands, and improve biodiversity protection and restoration in agricultural ecosystems, while strengthening the institutional capacity of local governments to integrate environmental and decarbonization objectives in government rural revitalization plans and investments. World Bank financing will complement a US$4.1 billion commitment by the Government of China (GoC).
• The US$621 million Food Systems Resilience Program for Eastern and Southern Africa (Phase 3) FSRP Project in Kenya, Comoros, Malawi, Somalia aims to increase the resilience of food systems and the recipients’ preparedness for food insecurity. The project has six components, including building resilient agricultural production capacity to strengthen the productivity and resilience of domestic food production to shocks and stressors, by supporting the development and adoption of improved agricultural inputs and services and climate-smart and gender-sensitive farming technologies in the crops, livestock, and fisheries sectors.
• A US$200 million credit for the Punjab Resilient and Inclusive Agriculture Transformation Project (PRIAT) will help Pakistan enhance access to, and productivity of, agricultural water, and improve incomes of farmers supported by the project. PRIAT will notably reduce the differences in water availability among head, middle, and tail end users of watercourses, increase agricultural output per unit of water used at farm level for selected crops, increase the share of area under high-value crops cultivation, and increase agriculture incomes of households participating in project activities, yielding important climate change adaptation and mitigation co-benefits.
• The US$125 million Agriculture Resilience, Value Chain Development and Innovation (ARDI) program will play a pivotal role in strengthening the transition Jordan’s agri-food sector. It supports Jordan’s National Sustainable Agriculture Plan and aims to enhance climate resilience, competitiveness, and inclusivity of the agri-food sector. Over the next five years, it will support 30,000 farming household with the adoption of climate-smart and water-efficient agricultural practices, provide needs-based training, create about 12,000 employment opportunities, and promote value chain and export promotion through advanced market diagnostics. A particular focus will be on strengthening the participation of women, youth and refugees. 

 

Last Updated: Feb 26, 2024

from — World Bank climate-smart agriculture. (n.d.). 

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climate smart agriculture

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) (or climate resilient agriculture) is a set of farming methods that has three main objectives with regard to climate change.^[1][2] Firstly, they use adaptation methods to respond to the effects of climate change on agriculture (this also builds resilience to climate change). Secondly, they aim to increase agricultural productivity and to ensure food security for a growing world population. Thirdly, they try to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture as much as possible (for example by following carbon farming approaches). Climate-smart agriculture works as an integrated approach to managing land. This approach helps farmers to adapt their agricultural methods (for raising livestock and crops) to the effects of climate change.^[2]

The most effective approach to enhancing climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is to involve the relevant organizations and government. This will demonstrate the duties and responsibilities of the government and the supporting institutions in facilitating the advancement of CSA practices. Assessing risks necessitates contemplating climate-smart agriculture. The CSA can assist in the research of the introduction of new crop varieties to address the changing climate.^[3]

There are different actions to adapt to the future challenges for crops and livestock. For example, with regard to rising temperatures and heat stress, CSA can include the planting of heat tolerant crop varieties, mulching, boundary trees, and appropriate housing and spacing for cattle.^[4]

There are attempts to mainstream CSA into core government policies and planning frameworks. In order for CSA policies to be effective, they must contribute to broader economic growth and poverty reduction.^[5]

The term climate-smart agriculture has been criticized as a form of greenwashing for big businesses.^[6][7]

The World Bank described climate-smart agriculture (CSA) as follows: “CSA is a set of agricultural practices and technologies which simultaneously boost productivity, enhance resilience and reduce GHG emissions.”^[2] and “CSA is an integrated approach to managing landscapes—cropland, livestock, forests and fisheries–that address the interlinked challenges of food security and climate change.”^[2]

FAO’s definition is: “CSA is an approach that helps guide actions to transform agri-food systems towards green and climate resilient practices.”^[1]

CSA has the following three objectives: “sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes; adapting and building resilience to climate change; and reducing and/or removing greenhouse gas emissions”.^[1]

Others describe the objectives as follows: mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change on agriculture, stabilize crop production, maximize food security.^[8][9]

Strategies and methods for CSA should be specific to the local contexts where they are employed. They should include capacity-building for participants in order to offset the higher costs of implementation.^[30]

Carbon farming is one of the components of climate-smart agriculture and aims at reducing or removing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.

To increase the effectiveness and sustainability of CSA interventions, they must be designed to address gender inequalities and discriminations against people at risk.^[37]: 1 Women farmers are more prone to climate risk than men are. In developing countries, women have less access compared to men to productive resources, financial capital, and advisory services. They often tend to be excluded from decision making which may impact on their adoption of technologies and practices that could help them adapt to climatic conditions. A gender-responsive approach to CSA tries to identify and address the diverse constraints faced by men and women and recognizes their specific capabilities.^[37]

Climate-smart agriculture presents opportunities for women in agriculture to engage in sustainable production.^[38]

FAO has identified several tools for countries and individuals to assess, monitor and evaluate integral parts of CSA planning and implementation:^[39]

1. Modelling System for Agricultural Impacts of Climate Change (MOSAICC)
2. Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model (GLEAM)
3. Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture (SAFA) system^[40]
4. Economics and Policy Innovations for Climate-Smart Agriculture (EPIC)
5. Ex-Ante Carbon-balance Tool (EX-ACT)
6. Climate Risk Management (CRM)
7. Gender mainstreaming
8. Monitoring and Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Mitigation Potential in Agriculture (MAGHG) project

The Climate-Resilient Agriculture (CRA) Index is a tool designed to assess and improve the resilience of agricultural systems to climate change. Two distinct versions of this index exist, each with a unique purpose and scope:

The CRA Index is aimed at benchmarking national agricultural resilience across countries. It uses nine indicators grouped into three dimensions: agricultural productivity and resource use efficiency, environmental sustainability and climate impact, and socio-economic resilience. It helps categorise nations into four resilience levels: Highly Resilient, Moderately Resilient, Low Resilience, and Very Low Resilience. This index provides policymakers with insights to prioritise interventions and enhance national-level climate adaptation strategies.^[41]

The CRA Index for India evaluates climate resilience within the country’s diverse agro-climatic zones. It employs 26 indicators spanning environmental, technological, socio-economic, and infrastructural dimensions to assess inter- and intra-zone resilience variations. This region-specific framework supports the development of tailored strategies to address local challenges and improve agricultural adaptability to climate change.^[42]

Both indices offer valuable insights for addressing the impacts of climate change on agriculture. While the global CRA Index focuses on international benchmarking and national-level strategies, the CRA Index for India targets regional disparities to guide localised interventions.

The EU has promoted the development of climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices^[43] as part of the European Green Deal Policy.^[44] A critical assessment of progress was carried out using different multi-criteria indices covering socio-economic, technical and environmental factors.^[45] The results indicated that the most advanced CSA countries within the EU are Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands. The countries with the lowest levels of CSA penetration are Cyprus, Greece and Portugal. Key factors included labor productivity, female ownership of farmland, level of education, degree of poverty and social exclusion, energy consumption/efficiency and biomass/crop productivity.^[45] The Horizon Europe research programme has created a focus on CSA and climate-smart farming within the EU.^[46][47] Projects deal with co-creation among stakeholders to change behavior and understanding within agricultural value chains. Investigative CSA studies on pig, dairy, fruit, vegetable and grain farms have been carried out in Denmark, Germany, Spain, Netherlands and Lithuania, respectively.^[48]

The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate/AIM4C) is a 5-year initiative to 2025, organized jointly by the UN, US and UAE.^[49] The objective is to rally around climate-smart agriculture and food system innovations. It has attracted some 500 government and non-government organizations around the world and about US$10 billion from governments and US$3 billion from other sources.^[50] The initiative was introduced during COP-26 in Glasgow.^[51]

The CGIAR as part of the AIM4C summit in May 2023 called for a number of actions:^[52] Integration of initiatives from the partner organizations, enabling innovative financing, production of radical policy and governance reform based on evidence. And lastly, promotion of project monitoring, evaluation, and learning

Several actors are involved in creating pathways towards net-zero emissions in global food systems.^[53]

Four areas of focus relate to:

• lowered GHG-emission practices by increasing production efficiency
• increased sequestration of carbon in croplands and grasslands
• shifting of human diets away from livestock protein
• taking on “new-horizon” technologies within the food systems

Livestock production (beef, pork, chicken, sheep and milk) alone accounts for 60% of total global food system GHG emissions.^[53] Rice, maize and wheat stand for 25% of the global emissions from food systems.

The greatest concern with CSA is that no universally acceptable standard exists against which those who call themselves climate-smart are actually acting smart. Until those certifications are created and met, skeptics are concerned that big businesses will just continue to use the name to greenwash their organizations—or provide a false sense of environmental stewardship.^[7] CSA can be seen as a meaningless label that is applicable to virtually anything, and this is deliberate as it is meant to conceal the social, political and environmental implications of the different technology choices.

In 2014 The Guardian reported that climate-smart agriculture had been criticized as a form of greenwashing.^[6]

Contradictions surrounding practical value of CSA among consumers and suppliers may be the reason why the European Union is lagging with CSA implementation compared to other areas of the world.^[54]

• Effects of climate change on agriculture
• Agroindustry

from — Wikipedia contributors. (2025, December 1). Climate-smart agriculture. Wikipedia.

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January 27th, 2026

Hudson Valley, New York

This is one of the words/ phrases you can’t say in the new Trump Regime. See a comprehensive list at the Forbidden Words Project.

image: birch and pine © Holly Troy 2026

Our list is most assuredly incomplete. The New York Times published a list of words flagged by federal agencies to ban, limit, or avoid. Additional terms were reported by Politico, Reuters, The Washington Post, Propublica, Science, Gizmodo, 404 Media, Popular Information, Politico’s E&E News and the nonprofit news outlet More Perfect Union. These have been aggregated into a single list, below, which also reflects guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, NASA, the National Cancer Institute, the National Security Agency, the National Science Foundation, and the White House itself.

from  — Connelly, E. A. (2025e, December 22). Federal Government’s Growing Banned Words List Is Chilling Act of Censorship. PEN America.