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

[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.

 

 




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