Design principles of a carbon farming scheme in support of the Farm2Fork & FitFor55 objectives

27 January 2022 - Climate Brief - By : Claudine FOUCHEROT / Pierre-Marie Aubert (IDDRI) / Johannes Svensson (IDDRI)

In order to reach the objectives of the recently approved EU Climate Law, the agricultural sector has to simultaneously reduce significantly its level of emission, increase the amount of carbon it sequesters, and augment the production of biomass in substitution of fossil fuel – which are to be phased out in the short term. In this perspective, the European Commission seeks to develop specific measures in order to support carbon farming, a concept that refers to business models in the agricultural sector that contribute to reaching the above mentioned objectives. This, at a time where other key objectives have been assigned to the agricultural sector by the Farm2Fork & Biodiversity strategies in order to bring it back within a safe operating space. Against this backdrop, this policy brief lays down key design principles of a “Carbon farming scheme” that would simultaneously foster climate mitigation and be in support of the other objectives set forth by the Farm2Fork and biodiversity strategies.

 

 

Key messages:

  • To be coherent with the multiple objectives of the Green Deal for the agricultural sector, a carbon farming scheme should target not only marginal changes in practices but also systemic transitions of farming systems, through the adoption of a multi-dimensional approach (beyond a carbon-focused one). The following criteria and objectives would need to be considered to support carbon farming in such a perspective: reduce GHG emissions/ha; enhance carbon sequestration in soils and agroecological infrastructures; foster the diversification of agroecosystems from plot to landscapes; and reduce the overall dependency of farming systems to external and synthetic inputs

 

  • Such an approach could only deliver on climate & biodiversity objectives if associated with a reduction in the EU consumption and production of animal products, whose production today absorbs the vast majority (45%) of all the biomass consumed within the EU under the form of feed (vs 13% of that biomass consumed for food, 23% used as biomaterials, and 20% used for energy purposes).

 

  • While the farm should be the smallest level of intervention (no practice change should be supported without considering the broader dynamics at the farm level), an effective approach to carbon farming should also be deployed at the value chain and / or landscape levels and involve collective organizations (interbranch organizations, producer organizations, local governments) capable of triggering the above mentioned systemic changes difficult to obtain at the individual level (such as crop diversification and the reintroduction of leguminous crops). This approach to transition beyond the farm would also help to create irreversibility and thus facilitate the management of risks associated to the non-permanence of agricultural practices / soil carbon sequestration.

 

  • To concretely support the development of carbon farming initiative, a clear framework should be established elaborating on existing schemes (Label Bas Carbone and others), and deployed in a “taxonomic” way; as such, the objective of the (certification) framework is less to generate credit carbon – whose selling on the secondary market would in any case generate way less money that what is actually needed to foster the type of transition that are needed – than to direct public and private investments towards well identified virtuous projects.
Design principles of a carbon farming scheme in support of the Farm2Fork & FitFor55 objectives Download
I4CE Contacts
Claudine FOUCHEROT
Claudine FOUCHEROT
Program Director – Agriculture and Forestry Email
To learn more
  • 12/02/2022 Foreword of the week
    European Carbon Certification must be demanding… and appealing

    How can we differentiate between projects that really enable carbon to be stored and those that only claim to do so? This is a complicated question when dealing with projects in agriculture and forestry, where quantifying carbon storage is complex, and where other environmental challenges, like the preservation of biodiversity, must also be taken into account. A complicated question, therefore, but one that needs an answer! Private actors and public authorities want to ensure that the agricultural and forestry projects financed in the name of the climate have a real environmental benefit.

  • 12/01/2022 Blog post
    Carbon certification: the Commission publishes a stringent certification framework that should also be appealing

    Yesterday, 30 november 2022, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a first EU-wide voluntary framework to reliably certify high-quality carbon removals. This proposal provides a framework, broad guiding principles, and the details will be specified in 2023 supported by an expert group on Carbon Removals. “The devil may be in the detail”, but the framing is no less important. Claudine Foucherot of [i4ce] has analysed it and identified four points on which we must be vigilant. Overall, it can be said that the Commission is submitting an ambitious proposal, which nevertheless presents a risk: not being sufficient incentives to ensure a massive deployment of certified projects.    

  • 07/08/2022 Op-ed
    Op-ed | Payment for carbon farming: we need an ambitious and pragmatic European certification

    The European Commission will propose a `carbon certification’ by the end of the year as a first step towards remunerating farmers and foresters who contribute to carbon farming. This certification project raises debates and concerns. For Adeline FAVREL of I4CE, the EU can respond and develop an ambitious certification by relying on the experience of the Member States in this field.

See all publications
Press contact Amélie FRITZ Head of Communication and press relations Email
Subscribe to our mailing list :
I register !
Subscribe to our newsletter
Once a week, receive all the information on climate economics
I register !
Fermer