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Note on Carbon Sequestration Policies in the European Union

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  • Angelo Frascarelli,
  • Paolo Emilio Bartolucci,
  • Stefano Ciliberti
Angelo Frascarelli
+393476027270

Published 2025-03-26

Keywords

  • carbon farming,
  • carbon credits,
  • soil carbon accounting,
  • CAP,
  • CAP budget

How to Cite

Frascarelli, A., Bartolucci, P. E., & Ciliberti, S. (2025). Note on Carbon Sequestration Policies in the European Union. Italian Review of Agricultural Economics (REA). Retrieved from https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/rea/article/view/15795

Copyright (c) 2025 Angelo Frascarelli, Paolo Emilio Bartolucci, Stefano Ciliberti

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Funding data

Abstract

This note examines the state of Carbon Farming (CF) policies in the European Union (EU), assessing existing mechanisms for encouraging carbon sequestration and evaluating alternative support scenarios, starting from analysing the proposed Regulation on carbon sequestration certification published by the Commission. It has also been analysed the integration of CF into the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) through cross-compliance measures, eco-schemes, and Rural Development programs. Additionally, the note explores potential CF support frameworks, including exclusive reliance on the CAP’s first pillar, the voluntary carbon market, and mixed approaches. Scenarios are evaluated for their benefits and trade-offs, with stakeholders from farmers to environmentalists weighing in. It emerges that expanding CF within CAP as an alternative or in addition to the voluntary carbon credit market, supported by a structured certification system, could enhance agricultural carbon sequestration and align EU agriculture with climate neutrality goals, warranting CAP subsidies as CF practices benefit public goods such as soil and air quality.

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