​ 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.

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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