Lessons learned from existing soil carbon removals methodologies in agriculture to drive European Union policies

Soil plays a central role in the global carbon cycle and in the fight against climate change and the protection of soil organic carbon (SOC) is fundamental. However, more than 33% of global soils are subject to moderate to severe degradation caused and the stocks of SOC in farmland and the extent of wetlands and peatlands are steadily decreasing. To maintain and increase C stocks in agricultural soils, carbon farming (CF) practices can be supported by carbon credits, tradable credits corresponding to 1 ton of CO2eq that are issued upon the demonstration of increased SOC stocks over time by C accounting methodologies for each agroecosystem and farming practice. In this study, an analysis of carbon credits methodologies focusing on agricultural soil C in extra-EU countries (Australia, Alberta in Canada, United States) is offered. Based on this review, we recommend to strengthening the European Commission proposal of regulation on Carbon removals (COM(2022) 672 final) by i) expanding the list of eligible agricultural practices ii) setting a permanence time frame for each agricultural practice, iii) setting the GAECs of the CAP as regulatory baseline, iv) including GHG emissions in the calculation of carbon removals, v) prioritizing CF projects on low-SOC lands, vi) clarifying the interaction with the CAP and the Soil Monitoring Law, vii) basing Carbon removals calculation on SOC maps, land use information and modelling, viii) setting a base price for carbon credits. These recommendations and many more are proposed to guarantee effective environmental protection, feasibility and economic affordability for farmers.