*Global CA-CoP* *CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY OF*

*for sustainable agriculture, land use and ecosystem management*

Dear Colleagues,

On the 30th of November 2022, the European Commission adopted a proposal[1]
for a voluntary framework to reliably certify high-quality carbon removals.
To ensure the quality and comparability of carbon removals, the proposed
regulation establishes four QU.A.L.ITY criteria, which are explained in
more detail in the accompanying Impact Assessment[2]:


   1. *Quantification*: Carbon removal activities need to be measured
   accurately and deliver unambiguous benefits for the climate;
   2. *Additionality*: Carbon removal activities need to go beyond existing
   practices and what is required by law;
   3. *Long-term storage*: Certificates are linked to the duration of
   carbon storage so as to ensure permanent storage;
   4. *Sustainability*: Carbon removal activities must preserve or
   contribute to sustainability objectives such as climate change adaptation,
   circular economy, water and marine resources, and biodiversity.


Moving forward, the Commission, supported by an Expert Group, will develop
tailored certification methodologies for carbon removal activities
delivering on climate and other environmental objectives.


Numerous initiatives have emerged in the last years to certify carbon
farming practices (i.e. practices that can sustainably enhance the storage
of carbon in soils and forests or reduce the release of carbon from soils),
thus creating a new business model for farmers and foresters.


The objective of this questionnaire is to obtain a comprehensive overview
of existing certification methodologies for carbon farming practices and to
understand how they ensure that carbon removals are accurately quantified
and additional, that carbon is stored for the long-term, and that carbon
removal activities are sustainable. The survey is structured along the four
QU.A.L.ITY criteria in the Commission proposal and is aligned with its
Annex I, which lists the elements that a certification methodology shall
include in the future Delegated Acts. At the beginning of each section,
there is a short explanation of each QU.A.L.ITY criterion as featured in
the Commission proposal; this is only done to provide contextual
information, and the replies do not necessarily need to show alignment with
the proposed QU.A.L.ITY criteria in the proposal.


The results of this survey will be presented during a meeting of the Expert
Group on Carbon Removals, which is planned for the 21st and 22nd of June
2023 and will be published as part of a review of existing certification
methodology to be finalised during summer.


We are seeking responses from actors in the field of carbon farming that
can provide us with technical information about how existing certification
methodologies address the challenges behind the four QU.A.L.ITY criteria.


We thank you in advance for your time and effort to fill in this survey:
this is a very valuable input to the upcoming work on certification
methodologies for carbon farming. Please note that *you do not have to
reply to all questions if some of them are not applicable to the
certification methodology that you are describing*. If you want to provide
information about several certification methodologies, please fill in the
survey several times, one for each methodology. You may upload any relevant
documentation at the end of the survey.

This survey will remain open for input until 5th of May 2023 at 23:59 (CEST)
.


https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/DGCLIMA-CRETA-EU-Survey20230414


[1] COM(2022) 672 final,
https://climate.ec.europa.eu/document/fad4a049-ff98-476f-b626-b46c6afdded3_en
<https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/We%20thank you in advance for your time and
effort to fill in this survey: this is a very valuable input to the
upcoming work on certification methodologies for carbon farming. Please
note that you do not have to reply to all questions if some of them are not
applicable to the certification methodology that you are describing. If you
want to provide information about several certification methodologies,
please fill in the survey several times, one for each methodology. You may
upload any relevant documentation at the end of the survey.>

[2] SWD(2022) 378 final,
https://climate.ec.europa.eu/document/ab53e63b-4b85-4d28-ac67-6bd742506bae_en

*Amir Kassam *

*Moderator*

*Global CA-CoP*

e-mail: [log in to unmask]

URL: http://www.fao.org/conservation-agriculture



*Regional CA websites:*

URL: http://www.act-africa.org/

URL: https://ecaf.org/
URL: http://www.caa-ap.org/

URL: http://caapas.org/



The national CA area data up to 2018/19 is available in the article:
*Successful
Experiences and Lessons from Conservation Agriculture Worldwide. Amir
Kassam, Theodor Friedrich and Rolf Derpsch. Agronomy 12, 769. 2022.*
<https://www.dropbox.com/s/j7mi4tjwnupialq/Successful%20Experiences%20and%20Lessons%20agronomy-12-00769-v3%20Corrected%20Published%20Version.pdf?dl=0>

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