![]() However, in March 2022 Silvia Bender ( Green Party), state secretary in the agriculture ministry, told German newspaper taz she had significant doubts over the benefits and practicalities of carbon farming. In November 2021, a ministry spokesperson told Euractiv that “promoting carbon sequestration in agriculture and forestry is of ‘high priority’ and a key instrument for reaching the sector’s climate targets.” He has said that Germany will support the agricultural agenda of the French EU council presidency. The new German agriculture minister, Cem Özdemir of the Green Party, has called carbon farming a “ huge opportunity” and said in his 2021 parliament maiden speech that he will promote humus build-up. It allows farmers, foresters, and other land managers to become true custodians of our natural environment and shepherds of our climate,” said Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice President of the European Commission in December 2021. "Carbon farming is a necessary addition to our efforts to reach climate neutrality. The European Commission defines carbon farming as “ a green business model that rewards land managers for taking up improved land management practices, resulting in the increase of carbon sequestration in living biomass, dead organic matter and soils by enhancing carbon capture and/or reducing the release of carbon into the atmosphere, in respect of ecological principles favourable to biodiversity and the natural capital overall.” Plant matter, and with it the CO2, are thus stored in the soil in the form of organic matter, particularly humus. The roots and other parts then decompose and are converted into soil carbon by microbes. CO2 is first absorbed from the air by plants, via photosynthesis. The term “carbon farming” refers to agricultural methods that enhance the uptake and storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) in soil. This factsheet explains the principles of regenerative farming, the soil carbon storage potential in Germany and the EU, the criticism of carbon farming, and the EU's plans. ![]() But many German researchers and the country's agriculture ministry warn that soil carbon sequestration is easily reversible, hard to measure, and could lead to greenwashing. An important contribution by farmers could be to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and store it in the soil using "carbon farming." The European Commission looks to be very much in favour of using this approach to reach climate neutrality in 2050, and will present its regulatory framwork on carbon removals by the end of the year. Reducing the carbon footprint of industry, electricity generation, and transport is relatively straightforward, but agriculture is still struggling to find its feet in the fight against climate change. ![]() Climate neutrality forces all parts of the economy to cut emissions to near-zero, and to capture remaining greenhouse gases in natural sinks, or using technical removal. ![]()
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