Controlled Environment Agriculture Could Mitigate Energy-Food-Climate Trade-off Under Confluent Conditions

Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) can potentially achieve the dual goal of food security and lower carbon emissions in food systems. However, contextual factors such as what is produced, how it is produced and where production is sited, determines the feasibility to meet these goals. Here, favourable circumstances were identified through a maximum energy use-productivity threshold (MET) as a key performance indicator. Results confirm that the potential as a lower carbon alternative to international import exists when growing lettuce in land-locked countries with low grid emission factor or when substituting air freighting of short shelf-life produce such as strawberries. Observations remain consistent in prospective low-carbon energy scenarios, further highlighting the importance of advancing current CEA efficiency. Establishing CEA on non-arable land allows substituted agricultural land to be restored for biodiversity and climate mitigation purposes. Results show that high energy use-productivity requirements associated with CEA of cereal crops could be justified when the potential for carbon sequestration from agricultural land substituted by CEA is accounted for. The MET derived here can inform policy as well as serve as an aspirational goal for researchers in CEA.