Transforming agriculture: inaugural EU Carbon Farming Summit breaks ground for climate-resilient practices

Hosted by Project CREDIBLE, EIT Climate-KIC and SAE Innova, the EU Carbon Farming Summit will unite diverse stakeholders — from farmers, to policymakers, environmentalists, and technology experts — to explore innovative techniques that can boost the adoption of carbon farming practices.

The event is a first step in building an EU-wide community of practice for all those motivated by sustainable agricultural soil management. It will showcase everything from regenerative farming approaches to cutting-edge monitoring technologies and will illustrate opportunities to approach agriculture differently. The EU framework on carbon removal certification in preparation by the European Commission will also be presented and its implementation will be discussed. With a particular focus on advancing techniques that sequester carbon, enhance soil health and promote biodiversity, the summit aims to catalyse collaboration and drive actionable solutions to combat the urgent challenges of European agriculture.

Amid these complex challenges — soil degradation, water scarcity, and the urgency to cut greenhouse gas emissions — the imperative for sustainable practices has never been more urgent. The summit will tackle this need through innovation and a systemic approach, involving diverse stakeholders in collaborative efforts to pioneer transformative solutions for a resilient and sustainable future.

Topics of discussion at the event will include: 

• What are the relevant agricultural practices across different EU climate zones and land uses, and how can they mitigate climate change while supporting biodiversity and food production? 
• How can the economic value of soil organic matter be accurately measured to support carbon farming initiatives? 
• What strategies can be implemented to inspire and enable regional clusters to develop carbon farming schemes? 
• What are the minimum requirements necessary to ensure that carbon farming practices deliver sustainability benefits? 
• How can a combination of policy instruments be leveraged to scale up carbon farming efforts effectively? 
• What methods can be employed to harmonise public and private datasets for mapping and monitoring soil carbon dynamics? 
• How can innovations in proximal sensing and digitalisation be leveraged to enhance carbon farming practices?
• In what ways does Earth Observation technology support the Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) methods for carbon removals?
• How can data from long-term monitoring sites be effectively utilised in the context of carbon farming to inform decision-making and improve outcomes? 

“The first CREDIBLE carbon farming summit is a key milestone for the creation of a European carbon farming market. We need credible and reliable certification to unlock the business opportunities of carbon farming. I am very much looking forward to discussing with practitioners and scientists how we can scale up carbon farming across Europe.” – Christian Holtzleitner, Head of Unit for Land Economy and Carbon Removals, DG CLIMA, European Commission

“This first EU Carbon Farming Summit highlights the vital role of sustainable agriculture in our fight against climate change. EIT Climate-KIC is thrilled to play a key role as one of the hosts, actively championing practical solutions that drive meaningful change. By uniting diverse voices and expertise we enable the dialogue that is needed to realise tangible progress towards a greener, more resilient future – rooted in innovation and collaborative efforts.” – Saskia Visser, Land use, agri-food and sustainable bio-economy Orchestrator, EIT Climate-KIC

“Carbon farming will be most profitable if we move beyond seeing it only through the lens of agricultural benefits. We should instead embed it in long-term, holistic landscape restoration plans that also deliver social and biodiversity returns. It should be part of a blended finance approach that drives forward community-led initiatives that inspire people to restore degraded landscapes.” – Willem Ferwerda, Founder, Commonland

The EU Carbon Farming Summit will go beyond talk, providing a platform for sharing real-world insights and success stories. By putting the spotlight on the transformative potential of carbon farming, the summit aims to ignite a collective shift towards sustainable agriculture and resilient food systems.

For more information about the EU Carbon Farming Summit, please visit: https://www.carbonfarmingsummit.eu/ 

Media contact: 
media@climate-kic.org

ABOUT CREDIBLE

Project CREDIBLE aims to build momentum and trust for the implementation of carbon farming in the EU. This will be primarily achieved by setting up and moderating a network of initiatives, projects and stakeholders to favour transparency, environmental integrity, and methodology standardisation in soil carbon accounting. The project is funded by the European Union under the Grant Agreement nº 101112951. 

ABOUT EIT CLIMATE-KIC

EIT Climate-KIC is Europe’s leading climate innovation agency and community, using a systems approach to shape innovation to support cities, regions, countries and industries meet their climate ambitions.

Together with partners across the globe, EIT Climate-KIC acts to bridge the gap between climate commitments and current reality by enabling decision-makers and investors to act. They find and implement solutions in integrated ways and mobilise finance. They build skills to accelerate learning and explore innovation, opening pathways to shift mindsets and behaviours. Through radical collaboration, EIT Climate-KIC orchestrates large-scale demonstrations that show what is possible when cycles of innovation and learning are deliberately designed to trigger exponential decarbonisation and build resilient communities.