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As agriculture is an important contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, carbon labelling aiming at climate protection will play an increasing role in the future. An important example is the development of guidelines and standards for climate-neutral agricultural products and their respective certification. Carbon neutral certifications are, however, affected by criticism and mistrust as there were cases of doubtful claims to carbon neutrality in the past. Against this background, this paper analyses a rather promising case of certification for carbon neutrality: the pioneer case of the Costa Rican coffee cooperative Coopedota, which is the first organization worldwide that achieved certification for carbon neutrality in coffee using a renowned international standard. Coopedota's carbon neutral coffee is certified according to the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2060, which is based on a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The paper analyses how the cooperative came to apply this certification, which challenges it faced and how the cooperative solved them. Furthermore, the paper examines the social, political and institutional factors that fostered this innovation. To analyse the success factors that were relevant in this case, a Social Network Analysis approach was used. An innovative tool called ‘Process Net-Map’ was applied to visualize the social networks that enabled the actors to pursue the certification scheme. Process Net-Map also made it possible to identify the role and importance of different types of actors. The analysis shows that the certification created awareness on emission hot-spots along the coffee value chain. Reliable farm data from producers were identified as crucial because emissions at the farm level account for 60% of total emissions. It was also found that by avoiding pure offsetting, PAS 2060 supports emission reduction; however, PAS 2060 does not account for on-site carbon sequestration, for which coffee cultivation has high potential. Overall, the study found that the most important success factors include a combination of (i) past achievements in Coopedota's sustainability policy, which was incentivised by national and international trends and (ii) strong, visionary actors who performed the necessary network functions. The analysis also showed that the network of relevant actors is highly centralized, (indicated by a degree centrality of 86%), which may jeopardize the sustainability of the innovation project. Moreover, the network analysis revealed the importance of ‘double linkages’ between actors, which points to the role that combined services, such as funding and advice, played for the introduction of the certification scheme. General implications are derived from this case for future efforts to promote carbon neutral certification schemes for agri-food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decarbonization is a process that transforms economies to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per unit of economic output, aiming towards net-zero GHG emissions. This process could also reduce short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) emissions, including black carbon and methane. They have relatively short atmospheric lifetimes but have large radiative forcing and impact human health. Therefore, reducing SLCPs can improve air pollution and help mitigate climate change. Costa Rica was one of the first countries to have a decarbonization plan, and many others have stated their goal to reach net-zero emissions by around mid-century. However, reducing SLCP emissions as an economy decarbonizes is not guaranteed, and few examples in the literature have assessed how decarbonization impacts SLCPs. This paper estimates the SLCP emission reductions from Costa Rica's decarbonization plan. Through a value chain analysis and the identification of implementation barriers, the paper also evaluates which policy instruments can advance SLCP mitigation in multiple sectors, creating implementation synergy. We find that mitigation measures, by 2050, in the transport, agricultural, solid waste, and industrial sectors avoid 25.2 kt of black carbon emissions (23 times the 2018 emissions) and 2167 kt of methane (15 times the 2018 emissions). However, the country faces financial and governance challenges in each sector that will need overcoming to implement the intended mitigation measures. We identify a comprehensive environmental tax reform, the overhauling of urban regulatory plans, the strengthening of institutional capabilities, and low-carbon investment with favorable financing as crucial cross-sectoral policy synergies that will advance the implementation of SLCP mitigation. • Decarbonizing can reduce and avoid short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) emissions. • Black carbon and methane (two SLCPs) cause global warming and poor air quality. • Some policy instruments can reduce SLCPs in multiple sectors, causing synergy. • Improved urban planning can favor the mitigation in transport and waste sectors. • Institutional strength and favorable financing are needed to advance mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decarbonization is a process that transforms economies to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per unit of economic output, aiming towards net-zero GHG emissions. This process could also reduce short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) emissions, including black carbon and methane. They have relatively short atmospheric lifetimes but have large radiative forcing and impact human health. Therefore, reducing SLCPs can improve air pollution and help mitigate climate change. Costa Rica was one of the first countries to have a decarbonization plan, and many others have stated their goal to reach net-zero emissions by around mid-century. However, reducing SLCP emissions as an economy decarbonizes is not guaranteed, and few examples in the literature have assessed how decarbonization impacts SLCPs. This paper estimates the SLCP emission reductions from Costa Rica's decarbonization plan. Through a value chain analysis and the identification of implementation barriers, the paper also evaluates which policy instruments can advance SLCP mitigation in multiple sectors, creating implementation synergy. We find that mitigation measures, by 2050, in the transport, agricultural, solid waste, and industrial sectors avoid 25.2 kt of black carbon emissions (23 times the 2018 emissions) and 2167 kt of methane (15 times the 2018 emissions). However, the country faces financial and governance challenges in each sector that will need overcoming to implement the intended mitigation measures. We identify a comprehensive environmental tax reform, the overhauling of urban regulatory plans, the strengthening of institutional capabilities, and low-carbon investment with favorable financing as crucial cross-sectoral policy synergies that will advance the implementation of SLCP mitigation. • Decarbonizing can reduce and avoid short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) emissions. • Black carbon and methane (two SLCPs) cause global warming and poor air quality. • Some policy instruments can reduce SLCPs in multiple sectors, causing synergy. • Improved urban planning can favor the mitigation in transport and waste sectors. • Institutional strength and favorable financing are needed to advance mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]