STEP 1: LEARN
Why Climate Action is Needed:
What Climate Action Means for Vineyards & Wineries:
The Case for Climate Action
We are experiencing direct impacts of climate change now. The climate impacts facing the wine industry are broad and include:
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drought and limited water availability
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excess rainfall
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extreme heat
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frost
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pest and disease pressure
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changing seasonality
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wildfire and smoke
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climate change-related regulatory and market requirements
Already the California wine community is dealing with more frequent and intense heatwaves and greater year-to-year variability in rainfall, increasing the risk for both flooding and drought, and changes in wildfire dynamics. Scientists expect that these impacts will continue to increase and affirm that climate change poses significant threats to California agriculture. Climate-driven changes in environmental conditions will also increase pest and disease pressure and create changes in seasonality, which can have profound effects on winegrapes that can vary by location and grape variety. In addition, wineries must contend with power shut offs, increased power needs due to extreme heat, increased regulatory requirements related to climate change and marketplace demands from retailers and other customers with climate goals.
While the list of impacts can seem overwhelming, fortunately, for decades California growers and vintners have used sustainable practices and approaches that are “climate smart”. Climate smart refers to practices that help manage a vineyard or winery’s climate challenges and risks, mitigate climate change impacts (through carbon sequestration and reducing greenhouse gas emissions), and build resiliency to current and future climate impacts.With greater awareness on increasing adoption of specific climate smart practices, vineyards and wineries can improve their resiliency and take part in climate change solutions.
The Case for Mitigation: Why Cutting Emissions is Essential
Scientists agree that we need to limit global average temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels to avoid the worst impacts from climate change. Unfortunately, in 2025 we are already near the cusp of surpassing this benchmark, if not already past it. The goal is still relevant because it is broadly understood; used by businesses, governments and organizations worldwide; and still represents the most aligned pathway for climate change mitigation.
Governments globally are increasingly implementing climate policies to reduce GHG emissions, and California has played a leading role in climate and energy policy. In 2022, California released the world’s first plan for a jurisdiction to achieve net zero carbon pollution, which would drastically cut emissions and accelerate transition to clean energy. (Net zero refers to a state when GHGs going into the atmosphere are balanced by removal out of the atmosphere and is an internationally recognized goal for mitigating global warming). Since the California wine industry operates in a state with a regulatory framework that includes ambitious climate change goals, it will require California businesses to make changes now and in the future. In addition, many U.S. and international wine retailers have climate goals aligned with 1.5°C and net zero. International alignment on climate action will continue to adapt in response to the reality of our progress, but retailers and other customers will continue to pursue climate goals, putting pressure on their supply chain partners, including wineries, to reduce their emissions in line with climate science and/or to report on their GHG emissions.
California Wine Climate Action Progress
Within the California wine industry, many steps have already been taken to better understand, measure and improve the industry’s carbon footprint including climate smart practices and metrics tracking in sustainability programs and certifications. With over two decades of working together on a common sustainable winegrowing goal, the California wine community has demonstrated that collaboration is effective and leads to positive outcomes. By conducting a Carbon Footprint Assessment of California wine and working with international partners via FIVS (an international trade association for all sectors of the alcohol beverage industry) to develop an International Wine Greenhouse Gas Protocol we have a clear sense of the priority practices for implementation, education and outreach. Additionally, many wineries are taking individual action, participating in sustainability programs that promote climate beneficial practices, or joining groups such as the International Wineries for Climate Action. While California wine is leading the way in terms of sustainable winegrowing, we need to do more — individually and together — to advance climate action.
Climate Smart Practices Help Mitigation and Adaptation
There are two primary types of action to address climate change —mitigation and adaptation.
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Mitigation refers to practices that help limit the impacts of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (decarbonization) and removing atmospheric carbon in a highly permanent manner (e.g., sequestering carbon in soil and woody plant material). Decarbonization is the primary goal of mitigation efforts, and mainly focuses on switching the source of energy from fossil fuels, such as natural gas and oil, to carbon-free renewable energy sources. It includes reducing overall energy use first, primarily through energy efficiency measures, electrifying equipment, and powering with renewable energy such as solar and wind.
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Adaptation refers to practices that help adjust to current and future effects of climate change or take advantage of opportunities presented by climate change. Adaptation helps operations be more resilient to climate change impacts and understand and manage risks from societal responses to climate change (e.g., regulatory or labor practice changes.)
Climate Smart Practices for Vineyards & Wineries
Practices that either help mitigate or adapt to climate change are commonly referred to as “climate smart.” The diagram below provides examples of mitigation and adaptation practices. As you can see, many climate smart winegrowing practices help with both mitigation and adaptation.
Major Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Vineyards and Wineries
GHG emissions are gases that trap the sun’s heat and cause the greenhouse effect, which leads to global climate change. One of the largest sources of GHG emissions for vineyards and wineries is carbon dioxide (CO2) from the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heat and transportation.
The main GHG produced by viticulture is nitrous oxide (N2O). The importance of N2O comes from its strong ability to act as a GHG. N2O is roughly 300 times more effective than CO2 at trapping heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, so a small amount of N2O can cause as much global warming as a very large amount of CO2. When nitrogen is added to soil, some of the applied nitrogen can be converted to N2O by soil microbes. This can happen to any nitrogen-containing additive including synthetic fertilizers (e.g., nitrate and ammonium) and organic materials (e.g., green manures and pomace). CO2 is also generated in vineyards through intense tilling. Besides being a source of GHGs, agricultural systems can help offset emissions by the capture and long-term storage of carbon in vegetative structures and soils. This process is referred to as carbon sequestration or a carbon sink.
For wineries, the main GHG is CO2 which is attributed primarily to purchased energy, which includes electricity, diesel, and other fossil fuels. In addition to energy needed for wine production and transportation, the production of packaging materials such as glass bottles and corrugated boxes require a lot of energy and result in CO2 emissions. Evaporative losses of refrigerants are also important sources of greenhouse gas emissions. The gases emitted from refrigeration systems are similar to N2O as they are more effective than CO2 at trapping heat, which gives them a higher global warming potential (GWP), which is typically thousands of times greater than CO2.
Carbon Emissions Scopes
Companies’ greenhouse gas emissions are classified into three scopes.
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Scope 1 refers to direct emissions from activities under the company’s control such as production and company vehicles.
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Scope 2 refers to all purchased electricity.
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Scope 3 refers to indirect emissions from the supply chain.
The International Wineries for Climate Action provides a useful graphic below that outlines the scopes for vineyards and wineries.
Above Graphic: International Wineries for Climate Action (2021), Overview of Greenhouse Gas Emissions across the Wine Value Chain.
Carbon Footprints and Hotspots
A carbon footprint assessment calculates the total amount of GHG produced by a product, such as wine (or an activity, individual or organization). In 2011, a carbon footprint assessment was conducted for a 9-liter case of wine produced in California and shipped within the United States. The study included the extraction and production of raw materials (e.g., fertilizer, diesel), grape cultivation, transportation of the grapes to wineries, winery operations, packaging, and, finally, distribution to warehouses and retail stores in the United States (truck and rail transport). The assessment identified hotspots, areas with the greatest opportunity to reduce the carbon footprint. A carbon footprint literature review was conducted in 2023 and found that the relative importance of emissions from various vineyard and winery activities in the 2011 assessment are largely still accurate and in the range of more recent studies. California growers and vintners can use the results of the study as a guide when considering opportunities to reduce their carbon footprint. Many opportunities for carbon footprint reduction will also lead to efficiencies in operations and reduced costs associated with raw material and energy purchases. Further, reduction of GHG emissions can help address regulatory and market pressures and mitigate business risk.
