Agriculture ministers will meet next week to discuss the potential to capture atmospheric CO2 through better soil management, as Finland's presidency of the EU Council seeks to advance talks on a long-term climate strategy term of Europe.
Finland's Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Jari Leppä, said this week that he expected a "lively debate" on how the EU can use the Common Agricultural Policy (which is currently being reformed for a period after 2020), for the sequestration of CO2 in the ground.
Biomass, particularly forests, has so far featured prominently in the EU's debate on how to achieve climate ambitions. However, the potential of soil carbon sequestration, which according to Finland could play a "fundamental role", has been much less discussed.
Ben Allan, who directs the Agriculture and Land Management program at the Institute of European Environmental Policy (AEP) based in Brussels, welcomed Finland's decision to push the issue on the political agenda. “Our work on what it would take for agriculture to reach net zero emissions by 2050 suggests that we could see a reduction of up to 33% in emissions by 2050 (compared to 2010) through changes in production and increased carbon capture in soils and biomass" explained Allan.
As indicated on the website of the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU, one of the objectives of the informal meeting of Ministers of Agriculture (which will be held between September 22 and 24, in Helsinki) is to stimulate the debate on the opportunities and challenges of agricultural land in terms of carbon sequestration and encourage Member States to act. It is also indicated that "the amount of carbon stored in European soils has decreased in recent decades".
A report by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IOCC) last month highlighted the disastrous impact of land mismanagement in terms of net global CO2 emissions, leading organizations environmentalists to demand a radical overhaul of the EU's land use policy.
Finland reiterated its determination to negotiate a deal on a net-zero emissions target by 2050 before its six-month term as head of the EU Council ends in December. Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Estonia vetoed an earlier attempt in the final days of Romania's presidency in June.
