Soils have the potential to store substantial amounts of carbon and help slow climate change.
Soils have the potential to store substantial amounts of carbon and help slow climate change. There is growing interest in carbon markets that would enable investment in—and revenue from—soil carbon capture and storage. In a paper published today in the journal Science, researchers from Environmental Defense Fund and Woodwell Climate Research Center recommended creating a regional crediting framework to strengthen the integrity of the voluntary soil carbon market.
The recommendation followed a scientific review that revealed widely disparate approaches to measuring, reporting, and verifying among the 12 published protocols used to generate soil carbon credits through carbon sequestration in croplands. This variation could lead to credits that aren’t consistent or comparable.
“To know whether the voluntary soil carbon market is driving down emissions, we need to know that one ton of carbon equals one ton of carbon, regardless of the protocol used. A regional approach would help make this possible, which is good for farmers, businesses and governments working toward climate solutions,” said Dr. Emily Oldfield, lead author and scientist at EDF. “This is the defining decade for slowing climate change. We need to get this right.
Read more at: Woodwell Climate Research Center
Photo Credit: fotos1992 via Pixabay
