What challenges are we facing in scaling carbon farming?
The First European Carbon Farming Summit, held in Valencia in March 2024, brought together over 600 participants, including scientists, policymakers, and practitioners, to discuss carbon farming's role in climate mitigation. The event highlighted the increasing relevance of carbon farming as part of Europe's strategy to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Key themes included:
Challenges in Scaling Carbon Farming: Farmers face barriers due to complex certification schemes and costly monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems. Clear guidelines, harmonised rules, and financial support are needed to help them transition to carbon farming practices.
Building Trust and Methodological Standards: The summit emphasised the importance of creating trust in carbon markets and establishing frameworks that account for biophysical variations and non-permanent carbon storage in agriculture.
Holistic Approach: Speakers advocated for carbon farming to be seen as part of a broader transition towards sustainable agriculture, focusing not only on carbon but also on soil health, biodiversity, and rural communities.
Technical and Financial Support: The development of affordable and accurate MRV systems, as well as accessible data, was discussed as crucial for the widespread adoption of carbon farming. The summit also addressed the need for financial incentives and clear certification criteria to motivate farmers.
The Future of Carbon Farming: The summit concluded with a call for collaboration and innovation to ensure that carbon farming contributes meaningfully to the regeneration of Europe's landscapes and agricultural systems.
The European Carbon Farming Summit provides a space for the sector to agree on best mechanisms to scale robust climate actions. But dialogues happen between individuals, and we need everyone's involvement to safeguard the enviromental integrity of carbon farming.
Aiming for the 2nd edition that will take place on the 4-5-6 March 2025 in Dublin, Ireland, we gathered the highlights of the first one that you can fully read and download below.
You can also visit the Summit's website to get fully access to all the keynotes and presentations that took place this year.