The Agriculture Ministers of the EU countries believe that the European Commission should hurry in drafting laws and regulations for implementing carbon storage in agriculture.
These laws should be in place by the end of the year, they told Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski, who last week outlined the first framework of this new agricultural branch in Brussels.
The ministers welcomed the European Commission's plans to kickstart carbon farming, which is also one of France’s main priorities for the temporary presidency of the Agriculture Council of the EU.
French Minister Julien Denormandie also announced that reducing environmental pollution by the agricultural sector will be thoroughly discussed at an informal ministers' meeting in early February in Strasbourg. The ministers aim to draw formal conclusions on certifying carbon storage during their meeting in March.
Although little is known yet about 'compensations' or 'payments' for 'carbon storage,' EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski promised to ensure that farmers would be sufficiently compensated. He responded positively to ministers' questions about the deployment of the new CAP funds through the national strategic plans.
France's efforts to accelerate the issue received strong support from the new German Agriculture Minister, Cem Özdemir. The Green politician called carbon farming "a great opportunity" for farmers because it offers an additional, reliable source of income.
Spain has already included some carbon farming practices in the eco-schemes of their national strategic plan, "such as intensive grazing, nature conservation, and planting in the case of woody crops," explained Spanish Agriculture Minister Luis Planas.
Several countries also emphasized that a clear and reliable system for measuring and rewarding should be developed. Additional EU funds should be made available for this, separate from the CAP subsidies.
Dutch Minister Henk Staghouwer warned that "EU efforts to stimulate carbon removal must not come at the expense of EU efforts to combat greenhouse gas emissions."