Researchers’ recommendation: Agricultural policy reform should promote climate-smart agriculture

The European Union’s agricultural policy reform requires stronger climate measures also in agriculture. About half of greenhouse gas emissions in Finnish primary production is created by the cultivation of peat soils. Hence, the largest and quickest emission reductions are possible by changes in the agricultural practices on peat soils. A joint policy brief by seven research projects encourages to implement emission reduction and carbon sequestration measures both on peat and …

Policy Brief: Climate smart agricultural policy requires a reform of incentives to minimize emissions from cultivated peat soils

Post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) must safeguard and stimulate the preservation of carbon-rich soils through protection of peatlands. Functional peatlands are the most space efficient long-term carbon store and sink in our planet’s biosphere. However, croplands on peat soils are currently large emission sources and they account for more than 25% of total emissions from agriculture and agricultural land use in the northern Europe. A group of leading peatland experts …