Carbon farming innovation and scale-up

This destination will support the EU Commission priority ‘Sustaining our quality of life: food security, water and nature’.

This destination is expected to foster mitigation and adaptation to climate change on land, in the ocean and water, and therefore contribute to Cluster 6 in support of the ambition for Europe to become the first climate-neutral and climate-resilient continent by 2050.

The destination supports the evidence-base for the implementation of the European Green Deal and its climate and biodiversity objectives included in the European Climate Law, the Nature Restoration Regulation, the European Ocean Pact, the Arctic policy, the amended Regulation on land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF), the Regulation on Carbon Farming and Carbon Removals.

The destination also fosters the development and deployment of innovative solutions and approaches to strengthen Europe’s water security to deliver on the European Water Resilience Strategy, support the implementation of EU water legislation and contribute to the European Climate Adaptation Plan. The destination has complementarities with Cluster 5, climate science and the European Missions on Adaptation to Climate Change and Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030.

R&I actions under this destination will encourage international cooperation and help achieve international commitments concerning land, water, and ocean for climate action under the Paris Agreement, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the Treaty on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) and the Antarctic Treaty. Strengthening the ocean-climate-biodiversity-cryosphere nexus is a priority for the EU, as well as safeguarding the integrity and resilience of the ocean and polar regions as vulnerable parts of the Earth System. R&I will support and close key knowledge gaps through research that contributes substantially to the implementation of key international treaties and the work of various international bodies, assessments, and other initiatives.

The Destination supports unlocking the unique assets for research and innovation of the EU outermost regions, in line with the EU strategy for outermost regions ^[1].

Expected Impact: Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway contributing to “Fostering mitigation of and adaptation to climate change in areas and sectors covered by Cluster 6”, and more specifically to one or more of the following expected impacts:

• Strengthened knowledge and understanding and reduced uncertainty about the future of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in the short, medium, and long term, and its impacts on the Global Ocean and the Earth System are available and used, alongside identified commensurate management responses to prevent the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic cryosphere from reaching a point of no return, including enabling protecting, restoring and sustainably managing marine and coastal ecosystems and preventing pollution.
• Effective policy mixes and multi-level governance capable of anticipating a changing Arctic and enabling a just and sustainable transition for all, engaging society at large and balancing economic, social and environmental goals, thanks to improved evidence-based knowledge, tools and science-society-policy interfaces.
• Carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions from land and water activities (inland, marine and coastal) – including primary production – and infrastructures are minimised in rural, urban, and coastal areas while the monitoring, reporting and verification of the emissions is improved.
• Medium- and long-term adaptation and resilience of water infrastructure, agriculture and forestry to challenges related to climate change is further addressed with regard to scientific knowledge, public policy and economic practices.

[1] COM(2022) Putting people first, securing sustainable and inclusive growth, unlocking the potential of the EU’s outermost regions.

Expected Outcome:

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• models, methods and data needed for the quantification of carbon farming activities and results are available for integration in a single monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) system, so that the costs and burden associated to carbon farming MRV are reduced to a minimum;
• use of carbon-removal and emission-reduction certification is facilitated at scale, and the EU Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) Regulation^[1] becomes the basis for cost-effective certification of carbon farming in different contexts;
• carbon farming actors involved in CRCF implementation in different roles – including land managers and other market participants as well as certification and governance bodies – have access to relevant scientific knowledge and tailored technical support for the implementation of CRCF rules.

Scope:

The CRCF Regulation creates the first EU-wide voluntary framework for certifying carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in products across Europe. By establishing EU quality criteria and laying down monitoring and reporting processes, the CRCF Regulation will facilitate investment in innovative carbon removal technologies, as well as sustainable carbon farming solutions, while addressing greenwashing. By 2026, the Commission will have adopted the first EU certification methodologies for different carbon farming activities through delegated acts, will have issued implementing acts with certification rules, and will have started the process of recognising certification schemes entitled to apply CRCF rules. With implementation of CRCF expected to start in 2027, this topic should serve to develop innovations and knowledge facilitating and enhancing its implementation on the ground.

Proposals should:

• develop innovations to facilitate carbon farming certification, particularly by integrating advanced technologies (e.g., machine learning, artificial intelligence, blockchain, Earth observation, IoT) and by enhancing cooperation among holders of relevant knowledge and data (e.g., networks of benchmark sites, ring tests among soil laboratories, interoperability of relevant datasets), in order to harmonise data collection and verification and to minimise administrative burden for operators;
• maintain open-access lists of models, sampling protocols, datasets of emission factors and other relevant data to harmonise sustainability benchmarks for carbon farming activities, enhance the robustness of company-level and national greenhouse gas inventories for the land sector and the agricultural sector, and ensure the comparability and interoperability of all CRCF uses;
• based on experience with the implementation of the CRCF Regulation and its implementing rules during the first years after entry into force, and building on previous knowledge and tools developed by other relevant (EU-funded) projects, enhance capacity among the relevant stakeholders and facilitate the broad application of new or improved technologies, processes or services supporting the successful participation of land managers, certification schemes, and certification bodies;
• create awareness about CRCF among all potential users, buyers, or financiers of carbon farming (e.g., companies in the bioeconomy, national and regional agriculture and environmental authorities, financial institutions), collect information about their data needs, and facilitate access to those data within the context of CRCF certification and registry;
• systematically collect and analyse feedback and lessons learned by carbon farming actors involved in CRCF implementation, particularly regarding obstacles to implementing and scaling-up of CRCF certification;
• identify and address – through technological, economic or social innovations – remaining obstacles for effective large-scale participation in CRCF certification, and propose potential improvements to enabling conditions, certification methodologies, verification rules, and incentive structures.

Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach and ensure adequate involvement of relevant stakeholders, including potential carbon-farming practitioners (farmers, foresters and other land managers), other market participants, certification bodies and relevant public authorities.

Proposals should include a dedicated task, appropriate resources and a plan on how they will collaborate with the other project(s) selected under this topic and with projects under other relevant topics in Horizon Europe Work Programmes, including the Mission 'A Soil Deal for Europe' and the EU Soil Observatory (EUSO).

In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.

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[1] https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/carbon-removals-and-carbon-farming_en#eu-carbon-removals-and-carbon-farming-certification-crcf-regulation