[Digest] Study presentation – Agricultural potential in carbon sequestration – Humus content of land used for agriculture and CO2 storage

The AGRI Committee met on 11 July 2022 for a presentation of a study on the “Agricultural potential in carbon sequestration: Humus content of land used for agriculture and CO2 storage”.
MEPs welcomed the opportunity to gain expertise on this technical topic, which forms part of the EU’s toolbox to mitigate green-house-gases emissions.
Members expressed their interest for the study’s conclusions on the potential for carbon sequestration in the EU agricultural soils and agreed with the concerns raised by the authors on the modalities for supporting farmers through carbon sequestration schemes and the need for bullet-proof measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) schemes and farm-advisory services. In their interventions, they insisted in particular on the importance of grasslands, grazing systems and cattle as well as peatlands to increase or preserve soil organic carbon and the need for results-based support schemes. In this respect, MEPs warned against possible distortion of competition in case eco-friendly carbon-rich soils would receive less subsidies than intensive, carbon-depleted ones converting to carbon farming. They also mentioned the risks of additional red-tape when putting in place complex carbon schemes.