LIFE CARBON FARMING: a new green project that will allow Spanish cattle to move towards sustainable production
- LIFE CARBON FARMING will accelerate the transition to a sustainable food system through a new model of results-based reward mechanisms.
- It aims to increase the resilience of livestock farming to climate change by including verified emission reduction techniques.
- It is envisaged that the results will be transferable to other European regions and countries with similar characteristics and jointly advance the Green Deal objectives.
On 11 January 2022, the Spanish consortium of the LIFE CARBON FARMING project, coordinated at European level by the Institut de l’Elevage and with the participation of farmers from France, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Germany and Italy, will meet for the first time. A real European carbon recovery project that will clearly respond to European climate change policies.
The Green Deal policy strategy sets out how to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. At the heart of the Green Deal, the Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy emphasises accelerating the transition to a sustainable food system. Farmers will thus have to transform their production methods, increase climate resilience and reduce the use of inputs. Thanks to the sustainability assessment method, the LIFE CARBON FARMING project will respond to these F2F tasks.
There is evidence that cattle farms can provide solutions in the fight against climate change. To facilitate the implementation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction techniques, the project will generate carbon footprint analysis tools. These tools will include harmonised GHG emission reduction methodologies that can be officially verified and monitored at European level, with the aim of providing objectives and tailored advisory services on sustainable management options, thus providing more assurance for on-farm investments in sustainability.
European agricultural practices that contribute to the goal of climate neutrality should be addressed through the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) or other public or private initiatives (e.g., carbon markets). By involving buyers in this new project in the financing of low carbon solutions on farms, it represents a new source of revenue to decarbonise the agricultural sector. The aim is to avoid 633,841 tonnes CO2 eq over the next six years, during which time 700 beef and dairy farms will be targeted, as well as suggesting short and long-term measures and proposals, which can be easily transferable to other regions.
LIFE CARBON FARMING is one of the mitigation projects approved in the 2020 call by the European Commission and will be implemented in 6 European countries. It has a total budget of 6.6 million euros and a six-year implementation period. ASOPROVAC assumes the coordination of the project in Spain with the participation of Global Factor, Neiker Tecnalia, COVAP, Lorra Koop, SERIDA, AGACAL, LACTIBER. GESTRUM, Asoprovac CyL, AINTA, and Asoprovac Cataluña and will count with the participation of 138 beef and dairy farms.
Source: LIFE CARBON FARMING & Global Factor
Global Factor is an international group with 18 years of experience, specialised in offering global, original, and innovative solutions in the fields of climate change adaptation and mitigation, carbon footprint, sustainability, circular economy, renewable energies, climate neutrality and carbon markets. Global Factor has an interdisciplinary team with a presence in 8 countries and has participated in more than 2,000 projects for more than 700 public and private clients, international organisations and non-profit entities in 51 different countries.
