Argentina

This large, Latin-American country occupies the southeastern part of South America, covering 1.07 million sq. mi. (2.7 million sq. km). It has a population of 40.09 million (2010 census), giving the country a population density of 37.53 people per sq. mi. (14.9 people per sq. km). Because 12.8 million people live in the capital of Buenos Aires, the per-capita rate varies from 37,946 people per sq. mi. (14,651 per sq. km) in Buenos Aires to 3.62 people per sq. mi. (1.4 per sq. km) in Patagonia. Nine percent of the land is arable, and 52 percent is used as meadow and pasture, especially for cattle. Argentina has the highest per-capita number of cattle, at 50,869 head per 1,000 people. The heavy reliance on the cattle industry has led to the desertification of some parts of the country, and has also contributed to very high methane emissions.

It has been calculated that about 44 percent of the country's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions come from the agricultural sector, with 70 percent of that amount from methane from the cattle industry. As a result, many of the attempts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Argentina have centered on the cattle industry, with cattle from Argentina producing larger emissions than their counterparts in Brazil and Uruguay. The first attempts have focused on trying to change the cattle diet on the basis that the simpler the diet, the fewer problems in digesting the food, and consequently the lower the level of GHG emissions. This also improves in the reproductive cycle of the animals. When implemented, these measures are expected to reduce GHG emissions in Argentina by 10 to 20 percent.

The country is also one of the largest producers of soybeans, the production of which also contributes to the output of GHGs. This is largely because the growing soybean emits nitrous oxide, which is about 300 times stronger than CO2. The deforestation of some areas to increase soybean production has made the problem worse.

Methane from waste dumps around Argentina has also been identified as a problem, and these are estimated to contribute about 5 percent of Argentina's total GHG emissions. Businesses are trying to extract the methane for use by industry, rather than simply burning off the gases. Furthermore, a [Page 74]substantial part of the population has a high standard of living, using significant amounts of electricity and contributing to a high private automobile usage. The Argentine press regularly criticizes the wastage of natural gas; the continued reliance on fossil fuels, especially extensive use of gaseous fuels; and the minimal use of solar technology. Some 51.8 percent of the electricity generated in Argentina comes from fossil fuels, with 40.6 percent from hydroelectric power, 7.2 percent from nuclear power, and the remainder from other sources. Hydroelectricity comes from a number of dams located around the country.

While contributing to GHGs, Argentina has also faced many problems from global warming. Since the heavy rains in Buenos Aires in May 2000, when more than four times the average monthly rainfall fell in less than a week, there have been very high rainfall figures. By contrast, rising temperatures have resulted in severe water shortages in the La Pampa province, despite some flooding around the Argentine–Uruguayan border from August to October 2001. The most noticeable effects of global warming have been in southern Argentina. It has been estimated that the glaciers in Patagonia have receded, on average, by as much as a mile since the late 1990s, and the Upsala glacier, located in the Los Glaciares National Park and once the biggest in South America, is now losing 656 ft. (200 m) per year. The warmer temperatures have also seen a large increase in plant life in the Argentine islands in the Antarctic region, such as Antarctic pearlwort and hairgrass.

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