Capturing a soil carbon economy

Abstract

Current carbon pricing and trading mechanisms, despite their efficacy in reducing GHG emissions from industry, will not be sufficient to achieve Net Zero targets. Current mechanisms that redress emissions are largely economic disincentives , in effect financial penalties for emitters. In order to attain Net Zero futures, financial incentives for activities that sequester carbon from the atmosphere are needed. Herein, we present the environmental and economic co-benefits of soil re-carbonization and justify support for soil carbon remuneration. With increasing momentum to develop green economies, and projected increases in carbon price, growth in the global carbon market is inevitable. The establishment of a soil-based carbon economy, within this emerging financial space, has the potential to deliver a paradigm shift that will accelerate climate change mitigation, and concurrently realize net gains for soil health and the delivery of soil ecosystem services. Pivotal to the emergence of a global soil carbon economy will be a consensus on certification instruments used for long-term soil carbon storage, and the development of robust institutional agreements and processes to facilitate soil carbon trading.

How can smallholder farmers benefit from soil carbon initiatives? Lessons from REDD+

“…Nonetheless, the storage of carbon in soils, e.g., through the protection, restoration and sustainable management of wetlands, grasslands, and agricultural lands, has so far been excluded from the regulated emissions trading schemes of the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. This may be explained by the complexity and the lack of standardisation in measuring carbon stock changes as well as uncertainty regarding the permanence of carbon sequestration in soils, and the environmental factors that affect the ability of soils to store carbon (Keenor et al, 2021).…”

Greenhouse-temperature induced manure driven low carbon footprint in aquaculture mesocosm

“…Carbon sequestration is a process by which carbon sinks remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The major steps of transformations involve: emission, evasion, capture, sequestration and storage in soils of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems (Keenor et al 2021).…”

Soil organic carbon stabilization in forest subsoils: Directions for the research community – Comment on “Biogeochemical limitations of carbon stabilization in forest subsoils” by Patrick Liebmann et al., Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 185(1), 35–43 (2022)

“…Further, at least 62 countries, mostly from the global south, included SOC in Land Degradation Neutrality and biodiversity targets that are not reflected in the latest NDCs (Wiese-Rozanov, 2022). Keenor et al (2021) advocate for the establishment of a soil-based C economy. Their vision, if realized, could accelerate climate change mitigation and concurrently realize net gains for soil health and the delivery of soil ecosystem services.…”

“…Keenor et al. (2021) advocate for the establishment of a soil‐based C economy. Their vision, if realized, could accelerate climate change mitigation and concurrently realize net gains for soil health and the delivery of soil ecosystem services.…”