Carbon sequestering into soil and plant material
can be a key tool to reduce emissions but the CoR
rapporteur Loïg Chesnais-Girard warns that regions
must be involved in the governance of EU
certification to ensure projects are adapted to
local needs and do not threaten food security in
Europe.
Local and regional authorities should be at the
heart of the governance of the certification of
carbon farming to support the development of
projects tailored to local needs and in line with
regional agricultural and rural strategies. This is
the key message of the opinion "Regional adaptation
strategies for low carbon agriculture" by Loïg
Chesnais-Girard, President of the Regional Council
of Brittany, adopted during the European Committee
of the Regions' plenary session and reacting to the
European Commission's draft regulation on an EU
certification system for carbon removal. The new EU
certification system for carbon removal should
consider the whole farm, all greenhouse gas
emissions and not only CO2, and integrate a strong
social, environmental and economic dimension,
otherwise there is a risk of hampering food
security in the EU.
Regions are directly involved in the development and
implementation of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
strategic plans in many EU Member States and help
encourage sustainable practices that reduce greenhouse
gas emissions in agriculture. Local and regional
authorities are also responsible for implementing 70%
of climate mitigation measures and 90% of climate
adaptation measures. In light of their commitment on
the ground, CoR rapporteur and President of Regional
Council of Brittany
Loïg Chesnais-Girard (PES/France)
calls in his opinion
"Regional adaptation strategies for low
carbon agriculture"
for the full involvement of local and regional
authorities in the discussion on the introduction of an
EU certification for carbon farming.
Loïg Chesnais-Girard
said: "The priority for agriculture should remain
to feed European citizens. The European
Commission's carbon certification proposal,
particularly for the agriculture sector, should
therefore be regulated and made coherent with the
Common Agricultural Policy. For this reason,
regions are the best placed to aggregate projects
and make sure that carbon farming benefits the
agri-food sector primarily and is not used as means
to greenwash other sectors not making the
sufficient efforts to reduce their greenhouse
emissions."
The rapporteur suggests adopting an approach based on
recognised practices to increase and maintain carbon
content in soils, while contributing to the protection
of biodiversity, rather than an approach based solely
on results. Farmers must be supported in their efforts
to reduce all greenhouse gases (GHGs), not just carbon.
On the EU carbon certification system, the opinion
stresses that it should be regulated from the outset,
in order to avoid the system being exploited for
financial gain or to encourage land grabbing. Any
changes to land use also risk impacting overall food
production levels in the EU. The CoR opinion also
underlines that the new system should not penalise
smaller farmers or those who have already integrated
GHG reduction and storage practices into their work. It
must be coherent, transparent and secure in order to
ensure the credibility of the credits granted in this
sector. The monitoring and evaluation framework for
certification must be reliable and accessible, without
incurring disproportionate administrative and control
costs.
More information:
In December 2021, the European Commission published a
communication on carbon cycles, followed by a
proposal for a regulation on an EU
certification for carbon removals
on 30 November 2022. On its own initiative, the CoR
drafted the opinion on
"Regional adaptation strategies for low
carbon agriculture"
with Loïg Chesnais-Girard as rapporteur. The European
Parliament will amend the European Commission proposal
and vote on its report at the September EP Plenary. The
rapporteur at the European Parliament is Lidia Pereira
(EPP/Portugal).
Contact:
Marie-Pierre Jouglain
mariepierre.jouglain@cor.europa.eu
Tel: +32 473 52 41 15