Every year, the Earth Day on 22 April honors the need to protect the environment and raises awareness about environmental issues. One of the most urgent among them is the climate crisis. In the EU, agriculture contributes around 10% to total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, agriculture also provides solutions for climate mitigation and adaptation. Organic farming in particular offers multiple benefits for climate and biodiversity, such as increased carbon sequestration in soils, 30% more biodiversity on organic farms and more resilient farming systems.
OrganicClimateNET’s policy assessment aims to understand which policies support farms in taking climate action and what impact they have on organic agriculture in particular. In this article, we want to highlight some important climate policies relevant for agriculture that will be analysed in the project.
The EU policy framework
At the heart of the EU’s climate action is the European Green Deal (presented in December 2019) aiming for climate neutrality by 2050. It is legally anchored through the European Climate Law (adopted in June 2021), which not only commits the EU to reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century but also sets the intermediate target of cutting net emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. To meet these goals, the EU introduced the Fit for 55 packages —a set of legislative proposals designed to align EU legislation with the 2030 target. Within this package, the Regulation for Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) and the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) are the most relevant for the agricultural sector which were revised under the European Green Deal.
The Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry Regulation (LULUCF Regulation) includes CO₂ emissions and removals from cropland, grassland, and forests. It sets an EU target of storing an additional 310 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2030 and imposes binding net carbon removal targets on each Member State. The Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) targets the sectors transport, buildings, small industry, waste and agricultural non- CO₂ emissions. It raises the ambition for these sectors to reduce the GHG emissions by at least 40% by 2030 (compared to 2005 levels) and sets reduction targets for the Member States.
Targeting Efforts: Carbon Reduction and Removal
Moreover, the European Commission published a Communication on Sustainable Carbon Cycles in December 2021 and in December 2024 an agreement was reached on the Carbon Removal Certification Framework. The regulation sets quality criteria and certification processes for carbon removals and it aims to create a consistent approach across the EU. Besides permanent carbon removals and carbon storage in products, it also includes carbon farming – bringing focus on soil carbon sequestration on agricultural land, rewetting of peatlands and agroforestry. The concrete methodologies are currently being developed and are expected to be published later this year.
Updates and Next Steps
In February 2024, the European Commission published its Communication on a 2040 Climate Target. It recommends reducing the EU’s net GHG emission by 90% by 2040 relative to 1990. So far, only the 2030 target is legally binding. The Commission must now publish a legislative proposal to include the 2040 target in the European Climate Law.
This is just an excerpt of policies that OrganicClimateNET will analyse in its policy assessment. The polices mentioned were all initiated by the former European Commission. With a new European Parliament (elected in June 2024) and the new European Commission (in office since December 2024), it remains to be seen how climate action in agriculture will be prioritised in the coming years.
About IFOAM
IFOAM Organics Europe represents the organic food and farming sector in Europe, advocating for policies and regulations that support the growth and development of organic agriculture. In the OrganicClimateNET project, they are in charge of supporting Policy Design.
Learn more about the rest of the partners here!
