Carbon Farming Summit: bringing stakeholders together to accelerate climate action

Programme

I4CE is involved in two sessions of the summit:

• Session A2, Tuesday, March 17, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Improved Forest Management and Community-Led Carbon Forestry: From CRCF Integration to Investment Feasibility and MRV Innovation 

This session explores how Improved Forest Management (IFM) and community-led forest carbon initiatives can deliver credible removals under the CRCF and evolving LULUCF policies. It combines practical IFM project experience with economic analysis of forest carbon investments and innovation in MRV systems. Case studies from Italy and Nordic countries illustrate baseline choices, risk management, profitability, and the use of digital tools such as living labs and forest digital twins. By integrating project development, finance, and monitoring perspectives, the session provides actionable insights for scaling inclusive, cost effective, and scientifically robust forest carbon farming across diverse European contexts.  

Main contributors: I4CE, Council for Research in Agriculture and Analysis of Agricultural Economics, Research Centre Policies and Bioeconomy, Natural Resources Institute Finland. 

Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/QG5sGQYxlug 

Contributors: I4CE, Climate KIC, CREA, CNPF, ECS, and LUKE 

• Session D4 on Tuesday, March 17, from 4:15 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.

Bridging Finance Streams for the Agricultural Transition: Co-Claiming of Carbon Benefits and Complementarity Between Carbon and Biodiversity Approaches in Agricultural Value Chains 

This session examines how the agricultural transition can be financed through a combination of public incentives, voluntary and compliance carbon markets, private investment, and emerging biodiversity approaches. It addresses challenges related to co claiming environmental benefits, preventing double counting, and integrating climate mitigation and biodiversity outcomes at farm level. Starting from a conceptual overview of funding streams, the session then presents practical experiences from a French farmers’ cooperative and integrated monitoring tools linking carbon sequestration and biodiversity outcomes. A concluding roundtable with agrifood companies explores private-sector readiness to finance biodiversity co-benefits and the role of carbon farming frameworks in recognising and rewarding them. 

Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/QG5sGQYxlug 

Main contributors: Agrosolutions, I4CE, Ecologic Institute, Mars Company. 

• Session E10, Thursday, March 19, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. 

Standards, Practices, and Certification Approaches for Carbon Forestry  

This merged session explores how Improved Forest Management (IFM) can deliver credible carbon removals under the CRCF and LULUCF Regulation. It connects on-the-ground forest management practices with methodological challenges such as baseline setting, additionality, permanence, leakage, and cost-effective MRV. Through participatory discussion, scientific analysis, and case studies, the session examines how EU-level certification, national registries, and voluntary standards can be aligned. Emphasis is placed on governance coherence, climate resilience, and integrity across Europe’s diverse forest contexts, providing insights into how forest carbon certification can be scaled while maintaining trust and transparency.  

Main contributors: Benefit, Climate KIC, CREA, I4CE, Etifor | Valuing Nature, University of Lorraine, Verra, University of Strasbourg, AgroParisTech, CNRS, INRAE, BETA Climate, Economics Chair, University of Cambridge, Gold Standard, FSC International, European Commission (DG CLIMA).