This report summarises key aspects that should be accounted for in the design of policy instruments to support the implementation of climate-friendly soil management measures. It outlines overarching aspects that need to be considered for any type of policy instruments, including land use competition, impacts on soil health, biodiversity impacts, ownership and rights to use of soils and social impacts.

Alongside Anne Siemons (Oeko-Institut), Hugh McDonald critically presented a soil-focussed assessment of the EU Commission's recently proposed Framework for Carbon Removals Certification.

Carbon farming promises to mitigate climate change whilst generating income for farmers – but can this promise be realised, and what are the risks? The European Parliament’s Environment and Agricultural Committees held a joint hearing to understand how EU policy can support on-farm carbon sequestration. The hearing featured two panels, including a presentation from Ecologic Institute Fellow Hugh McDonald on the challenges of carbon farming certification.

In this brief, researchers from Ecologic Institute and Öko-Institut critically assess the Commission's 2022 proposal for Framework for Carbon Removals Certification as it applies to climate-friendly soil management. In particular, they evaluate whether Framework's so-called QU.A.L.ITY criteria (Quantification, Additionality, Long-term storage, Sustainability) are sufficient to ensure high quality soil carbon removals. The brief summarises the specific challenge posed by soil carbon sequestration, identifies problems with the current proposal, and makes recommendations for improvements. The brief is available for download.

This infographic illustrates the total global mitigation potential of different types of Nature-based Solutions, shown by ecosystem. The scale of the total potential varies significantly for different ecosystems, i.a. because the total global area of the ecosystems is different.

Frelih-Larsen, Ana et al. 2022: Silvopastoral agroforestry. Factsheet. German Environment Agency: Dessau-Roßlau.

Frelih-Larsen, Ana et al. 2022: Silvoarable agroforestry. Factsheet. German Environment Agency: Dessau-Roßlau.

Gattinger, Andreas et al. 2022: Critical External Inputs: off-farm compost, off-farm manure and biochar. Factsheet. German Environment Agency: Dessau-Roßlau.

Frelih-Larsen, Ana et al. 2022: Improved Crop Rotation. Factsheet. German Environment Agency: Dessau-Roßlau.

Scheid, Aaron et al. 2022: Low input grasslands / set-aside areas. Factsheet. German Environment Agency: Dessau-Roßlau.

Gattinger, Andreas et al. 2022: Mixed Crop-livestock Systems. Factsheet. German Environment Agency: Dessau-Roßlau.

Frelih-Larsen, Ana et al. 2022: Nitrification inhibitors: biological and synthetic. Factsheet. German Environment Agency: Dessau-Roßlau.

Gattinger, Andreas et al. 2022: Precision Farming (site-specific management). Factsheet. German Environment Agency: Dessau-Roßlau.

Scheid, Aaron et al. 2022: Prevention of land take. Factsheet. German Environment Agency: Dessau-Roßlau.

Gattinger, Andreas et al. 2022: Reducing soil compaction. Factsheet. German Environment Agency: Dessau-Roßlau.