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Protection of soil carbon content as a climate change mitigation tool
Peter WehrheimHead of Unit, DG CLIMA
Unit A2: Climate finance and deforestation
Soil as Natural Capital: Agricultural Production, Soil Fertility and Farmers Economy, Brussels, 23 November 2011
2
Green house gas cycles related to forestry, agriculture and soils
CH4 and N20 are part of EU‘s reduction commitment!
CO2 from soils is not!
3
Agriculture GHG emissions by source (including CO2 from Energy, without CO2 from LULUCF )
Source: EEA
N fertilizers, manure
Eructed by ruminants (80% cows)
Storage, manipulation(50% pigs, 45% cows)
Fuel (tractors, machinery…), electricity…
Again: CH4 + N20 + are included CO2 from soils is not!
4
From a climate point of view: Cows have a dual
personality!
Methane is accounted and part of the emission reduction commitment
(Effort Sharing Decision)!
Carbon removed through grassland (LULUCF) is NEITHER accounted NOR
part of the emission reduction commitment!
Ecology & Farming, 4 – 2011, IFOAM Magazine
5Factual information: carbon content in soils
Croplands Store 17 % of the global stock of carbon in terrestrial
ecosystems (WRI, 2011); net source of emissions
Management practices affect carbon stocks (esp. residue-, tillage-, fertilizer-, irrigation management, choice of crops and crop rotation)
Grasslands Store 34 % of global stock of carbon, predominantly in soil
(WRI, 2011)
Land Use Change (e.g. conversion to cropland, urbanization) turns them into major source of CO2 emissions
Carbon stock can be increased through sustainable grassland management (grazing, species, water/ fertilizer/ organic matter inputs, restoration)
6Factual information: carbon content in soils
CO2 emissions used from drained peat soils (in t CO2/ha,yr)
Peatlands Cover 3% of land area, but:
Store 30% of all global soil carbon
Total of 550 Gt CO2 (Parish et al., 2007)
Annual emission factors for cultivated organic soils: 5 t CO2/ha,y in cool temperate; 10 t CO2/ha,y in warm temperate and 20 t CO2/ha,y in tropics (IPCC, 2006)
Valuable carbon sink, but also major source of emissions when degraded
Source: Joosten (2010), Couwenberg (2009)
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-500000
-400000
-300000
-200000
-100000
0
100000
200000
2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
Em
iss
ion
s (
Gg
CO
2 p
er
ye
ar)
Notation key: + Cropland management, ▲ Deforestation, – Grazing land management, ♦ Afforestation, and ■ Forest management. Unconnected symbols indicate reported data and connected symbols indicate model projections.
• Protect the existing sink
• Counter existing trends
• Increase the mitigation potential of the sector
Sin
ks (-
)
Em
issi
on (
+)Mitigation potential through Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry in the EU’s climate policy
Partly “natural”, but impact of policy drivers visible
Overall decline in sink by 13% btw 2005 and 2020
8Instruments in the Commission proposal for CAP post-2013 to protect/enhance soil
carbon content:Cross compliance theme “Soil and Carbon Stock”: 3 standards for
good and agricultural and environmental conditions (GAEC): Minimum soil cover
Maintenance of soil organic matter level including ban on burning arable stubble
Protection of wetland and carbon rich soils including a ban on first ploughing
Pillar I – Greening component - Payments for agricultural practices beneficial for the climate and the environment: Crop diversification, permanent grassland, ecological focus areas
Pillar II: Good options to address “hotspots” on soil management Multiple possibilities building on experience from Health Check
Agri-environment-climate measure, forest-environment and climate services
9Concluding comments
Soil carbon plays an important role in overall green house gas emissions
CO2 emissions from soil (Land and Land Use Change) currently not included in EU climate policy yet
Assessment report on how Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry can be included in EU climate policy in 2012
Future CAP will provide significant options to better protect soil carbon and thereby make cost-effective contributions to climate change protection
Improving soil carbon is a „win-win“option: Good for the climate and good for the farmer!
10
QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION
Information about EU’s climate policy:http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/clima/mission/index_en.htm
Thank you for your attention!