NEWS BRIEF
North Forty News reports that a Colorado State University study found U.S. irrigation produces direct greenhouse gas emissions but may provide a larger climate benefit by increasing crop yields and reducing the need to convert additional land to agriculture. Researchers estimated emissions from land-use change without irrigation would be 363 times current annual irrigation emissions.
The analysis considered energy used for pumping and moving water, along with other direct irrigation-related emissions. Researchers said electrifying pumps could reduce some direct emissions, while noting that water decisions in the West involve trade-offs beyond greenhouse gas emissions. The study did not assess all agricultural emissions sources, including nitrogen fertilizer and livestock methane.
What to know
The study estimates that irrigation’s avoided land-conversion emissions outweigh its direct emissions, but it does not resolve broader Western water-use trade-offs or account for every agricultural emissions source.
Reporting: North Forty News Staff · North Forty News · 09-20-2026
