Smart Net-Zero

CABI | Source | Report |

Climate-Smart Pest Management (CSPM) is an integrated framework designed to align pest management with the triple objectives of climate adaptation, mitigation, and sustainable productivity. The briefing argues that conventional pest control approaches are structurally ill-suited to handle climate-driven shifts in pest dynamics, including changes in pest distribution, outbreak timing, and disruption of pest-natural enemy relationships. CSPM positions biological control and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as core nature-based tools capable of reducing pesticide use and associated emissions while sustaining crop yields. To operationalise this framework, the briefing calls for investment in digital early warning systems to enable timely, evidence-based responses to climate-induced pest outbreaks, and for the development of climate-responsive national extension services capable of delivering scientific advances to farmers in practice. A key challenge highlighted is the persistent structural gap between the pace of scientific progress in pest management and the capacity of extension systems to translate this knowledge into actionable farm-level guidance—particularly in regions where advisory services remain underfunded and insufficiently equipped for climate-adaptive support.