Background

MEPs approve promising rules to boost carbon farming

Published: 24/10/2023

Today, the European Parliament’s ENVI Committee adopted its report on a Union certification framework for carbon removals. The report adopted today is promising and sets a strong basis for the decarbonisation of the food supply chain.

The European food and drink industry buys 70% of EU agricultural raw materials and supports farmers keep carbon in the soil and reduce farm emissions through measures such as paying farmers a higher price for their products, sharing regenerative know-how, and enabling the right contractual conditions to facilitate the transition.

FoodDrinkEurope’s Director General Dirk Jacobs said: “The European food and drink industry is reducing its carbon footprint, not just in its own operations but up and down the supply chain.”

“The Union certification proposal will be a pivotal tool in achieving our climate goals, as long as it allows agri-food enterprises to have preferential access to carbon removal certificates facilitated in their supply chain.”

“To further decarbonise the food chain, we will need an expansion of the provision to certificates derived from carbon removals, to incentivise all actors in the agri-food chain to keep carbon in the soil.”

On rules on compensation, offset or reduction claims, provisions must be dealt with as part of the Directives on Green Claims and Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition and not this Regulation establishing a Union certification framework for carbon removals.

The food and drink industry continues to help farmers adopt more regenerative agriculture, reduce emissions, and keep carbon in the soil. Find out how here.