To prevent catastrophic global warming, atmospheric carbon capture and storage strategies are essential and complementary to the reduction of fossil and biogenic greenhouse gas emissions. This was the topic touched upon by Michele Pisante of the University of Teramo, during the meeting entitled “Carbon credits, an opportunity for all sectors” organized by Edagricole to define the scenario of a sector that is still in search of precise reference parameters. “Consistent and accurate monitoring, review and verification of changes in soil organic carbon stocks and net greenhouse gas emissions – Pisante states – are essential to facilitate investments in sustainable land use practices that maintain or increase soil organic carbon stocks”. “Private initiatives linked to voluntary carbon markets – continues Pisante – can integrate and promote carbon agriculture on a large scale. The carbon removal certification framework will help ensure transparent identification, through standardized methodologies, of carbon farming and industrial solutions that remove CO₂ from the atmosphere and store it over the long term”.
Angelo Frascarelli of the University of Perugia reaffirms the concept: “Carbon farming is the set of agricultural practices that favor the absorption of greenhouse gases in the soil and vegetation. Carbon farming includes: absorption of carbon into the soil from the atmosphere; no/less greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional practices; increased biodiversity and conservation of ecosystems. In addition to constituting a new source of income for the farmer, Frascarelli views the adoption of carbon farming practices as providing multiple benefits: resistance to abiotic and biotic factors, soil preservation, reduction of erosive phenomena, increase in crop and soil productivity, and the generation of a high turnover of biomass above and below the soil. “Carbon farming, thus not only allows farmers to contribute to the mitigation of climate change but also increases the resilience of agricultural systems to climate change”.
On the regulatory front, however, there still appear to be many steps to be taken. Following the publication of the Proposal for a Regulation on the certification of carbon removals (CRCF) on November 30, 2022, the text was amended by the Council and the European Parliament in November 2023. In February 2024 and April 2024, provisional agreements on the regulation reached by the European Parliament and the Council were signed. And between April and October 2024, the amendments were drawn up by the Council with new approval by the Parliament. “The next steps – Frascarelli continues – are the publication of the CRCF regulations in the Official Journal, expected by December 2024, the publication of the Delegated Act, by December 2025 and, above all, the launch of the carbon credit market, by January 1, 2026”.
Processing and mechanization can significantly impact carbon management. “Combining precision agriculture with conservative agriculture is strategic – stresses the Paduan agronomist Lorenzo Benvenuti – especially if you aspire to make use of the carbon sink politically and economically, such as with traceability. The carbon sink is also an opportunity for synecology, fertility, and reduction of cultivation costs. One way to utilise the carbon sink is found in conservative agriculture which requires minimal tillage, cover crops and a flexible approach. It is conservative agriculture that combines well with precision agriculture and brings with it soil regeneration, reactivation of fertility, and the production of various ecosystem services”.
