Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions on Dutch dairy farms - integrated evidence from behavioural and efficiency models

Summary

Currently, the most significant challenge for the Dutch dairy sector is maintaining a good income while reducing its environmental impacts on climate, water, soil, and biodiversity. In this thesis, we explicitly focus on the topic of reducing this sector's environmental impact on the climate, specifically the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We assessed the potential and cost of reducing GHG emissions, with a special reference to the role of farmers' behavioural factors in the adoption of mitigation measures and their farms' environmental performance on Dutch dairy farms.

Among our findings is that aligning financial incentives, eliciting negative emotions from inaction positively, and fostering a positive personal norm and attitude could enhance the adoption of GHG mitigation measures among Dutch dairy farmers.