CEMA, the European Agricultural Machinery Association, issued a position paper outlining the contribution of smart ag machinery to carbon farming. The use of such machinery and technology can be an effective tool to achieving this goal.
Carbon farming is a set of land management practices to capturing carbon in the soil. By reducing and capturing the CO2 released in the atmosphere, it can contribute to mitigating climate change.
The European Commission has often underlined the role of the agricultural sector to reach the EU’s climate targets. Carbon farming can be an important contributor, enabling to compensate emissions through carbon removals, which are activities that remove CO2 from the atmosphere and store it.
CEMA is committed to greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions and carbon storage in agriculture. EU manufacturers are engaged with farmers to foster climate neutrality, according to CEMA. The industry has long been developing and offering a wide range of innovative machines and technologies enabling climate-smart agricultural production processes. With the public debate warming up on the forthcoming framework for voluntary carbon removal certifications and on the set up of a clear EU roadmap on carbon farming, CEMA is much willing to contribute to the discussion.
The dedicated position paper on this matter, emphasizes the importance of considering broader carbon reduction opportunities, encompassing land and livestock management, as well as circular economy principles. When it comes to the measurement of CO2 efficiency improvements, CEMA maintains that the co-benefits associated with carbon farming practices, should also be taken into account.
Ensuring reliable long-term business conditions for European farmers and technology sectors, is crucial for achieving overall CO2 emissions reduction and advancing towards carbon storage. The potential for the combined EU agricultural and Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sectors to become climate neutral by 2035, can only be realized in a holistic technology-wise and cost-effective manner.
In the paper, CEMA addresses the perspective of carbon storage, complementing with recommendations to EU decision makers touching upon: scope definition of carbon removals, good practices, level playing field, technology uptake, technology calibration and reporting obligations.
The European Agricultural Machinery Association also believes that the digital transformation which brings better connectivity, data streams and advanced data analytics will be a key enabler for carbon farming.
