On Friday 22 November, the European Commission published a study giving a positive assessment of the climate change mitigation potential of 19 strategic plans implementing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023-2027.
The study concludes that these plans can make a significant contribution to meeting climate targets in the land sector, with an estimated mitigation potential of 31 million tonnes of CO2 per year, mainly through carbon sequestration and reducing emissions from soils.
Crop rotation or diversification, expansion of cover crops and conversion to organic farming are the three agricultural practices that contribute most to the estimated mitigation potential (78% in total). As far as CAP instruments are concerned, eco-schemes account for 38% of the estimated mitigation potential and environmental and climate commitments under rural development for 30%.
The analysis also indicates a potential positive contribution to the protection of existing carbon sinks, estimated at 29 million tonnes of CO2 per year in the 19 strategic plans examined.
Link to the study: https://aeur.eu/f/eg3 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)