Driving the Future of Carbon Farming: Insights from the EU Carbon Farming Summit

Last week, a few members of the Seqana Team and I attended the 2nd European Carbon Farming Summit in Dublin. The conference brought together EU policymakers, scientists, industry stakeholders, and (unfortunately, only a small number of) farmers to discuss carbon farming on European soils and the adoption and implementation of the EU Carbon Removals Carbon Farming (EU-CRCF) Framework.

The conference provided an opportunity for the industry to convene, discuss, and provide feedback on the current version of the EU-CRCF and the feasibility of its implementation at scale. These discussions centred around improving the Framework while maintaining scientific rigorous standards and ensuring its implementation can withstand external scrutiny. Kudos to Project Credible for fostering such a participatory process.

Overall, the conference highlighted the tremendous momentum around soil carbon building in Europe. It also underscored the urgent need for rigorous scientific standards, policy clarity, and commitment from industry stakeholders that prioritizes soil carbon removals as a scalable and effective climate solution as well as the stepping stone to a regenerative food system. 

I'd like to take a moment to reflect on the conference, highlight some exciting insights that were shared, and emphasize areas where I believe it's crucial that we, as an industry, continue to uphold high standards and innovate.

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Soil carbon - an important, first piece of the puzzle in valorizing ecosystem services

The conference highlighted the clear consensus that soil carbon is only one, albeit very important, piece of the puzzle of leading a movement towards adopting broader regenerative agricultural practices. For Europe, it is a great proxy for overall soil health and can be a catalyst for implementing market-based mechanisms that reward impactful shifts in agricultural practices. 

EU-CRCF as the catalyst for transformation

Regenerative agricultural practices have been adopted by the first wave of innovative farmers; however, if we want to continue to create large-scale, enduring impact we must build the capacity for more farmers to see value in change. For the “continental shift”, we need a way to cross the chasm and make the transition to regen ag more appealing to a broader audience. Regulatory measures, like the EU-CRCF are predestined to build that bridge as long as they offer viable, feasible and not overly complex incentives structures to make that transition. 

Greater understanding around the issue of permanence

As mentioned, implementing soil carbon removal is only the first piece of a puzzle, and it can be a powerful tool in our toolbelt for climate change mitigation. For the next few decades, carbon farming can take us to a future, where we have decarbonized the economy and other CDR technologies have further matured. Soil carbon sequestration works NOW. 

A new study was presented for European soils and is set to be published soon. It states that once regenerative practices are discontinued, sequestered carbon in soils will be lost over time. No surprise there! However, it may take more than 100 years for the sequestered carbon to be completely depleted, while the majority of the loss has occurred only after 40+ years.

I look forward to more research and clarity coming to light on the important topic of permanence. 

Ensuring standards enable scientifically-robust carbon credits

At Seqana we value sincerity. While we are excited by the promise of new technologies, we must also recognize their limitations at present and develop policy solutions that prioritize practical feasibility with unwavering scientific rigour. This is possible today.

Currently, there are several approaches to the quantification of soil organic carbon, all of which have their own benefits and drawbacks. We, at Seqana, advocate for an open framework where all modelling approaches—statistical, process-based, and hybrid models—can compete on a level playing field.

Quantification approaches within the EU-CRCF should remain clear and straightforward.  Transparent uncertainty metrics and deductions are essential in promoting high quality, scientifically rigorous soil carbon projects. Moving forward, we must continue prioritizing accuracy while enabling projects to scale effectively.

With the upcoming implementation of the EU-CRCF, we hope to see these values reflected in practice, garnering a robust and thriving industry that can help mitigate climate change. 

The Road Ahead

The summit reinforced that soil carbon removal is gaining traction—not just as an abstract concept, but as a concrete climate solution that is being actively shaped by technology, policy, and market forces. However, if we want to see real impact, we need to ensure that the science remains robust, the economics viable, and the policies aligned with real-world implementation. 

Despite being a voluntary mechanism, the EU-CRCF has the opportunity to put Europe at the global forefront of systematically embracing carbon farming practices. The European Carbon Farming Summit offered an excellent opportunity for the industry to come together, be energized by the enthusiasm that exists within our industry, and commit ourselves to implementing projects that create enduring impact. 

At Seqana, we remain committed to advancing this field by leveraging remote sensing to build robust MRV frameworks, and demystifying soil carbon for project developers and agrifood corporations alike. The discussions at the conference reaffirmed my confidence that we, at Seqana and as an industry, are heading in the right direction—but there is still much work to do.

As we continue to see the EU-CRCF and other methodologies evolve, our focus remains on one goal: making soil-based carbon removals scalable, credible, and impactful for farmers, corporations, and the planet.

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