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Carbon sequestration is set to be the next big thing in farming.
What is carbon sequestration? It’s the long-term removal, capture or sequestration of carbon dioxide (C02) from the atmosphere: the chief cause of global warming. Today, there are a number of machines and inventions built to suck carbon from the air, to chunnel it down into the earth for storage, to turn it into coal. But the most effective, and simple answer for carbon sequestration is in the soil, the plants, the trees, and the seas.
Farmers sit on a fragile crossroads when it comes to climate change. Agriculture is one of the principal contributors to global warming and the destruction of the natural world. Farmers feel the sting of climate change first, and vividly: droughts ravage crops, floods plunge fields into wet hopelessness, disruption like that unleashed by Covid-19 hits them where they’re weakest.
But within the seemingly dark cloud, there is a silver lining: the possibility to pivot farming from an environmental problem, to a critical solution. A significant part of that lies in carbon sequestration, and for farmers, in the expanding carbon market.
The path to sustainable farming
DEFRA recently released its ‘Agricultural Transition Plan: The Path to Sustainable Farming’ over the next seven years. Essentially, it involves a nation-wide experiment to change the entire infrastructure of British agriculture. In short: the farmers that will earn the most will deliver the same or more crops to a higher standard, with lower costs of production, and additional profits by sequestering carbon.
Carbon capture and storage has been a topic of heated discussion for some time. In farming, it is particularly critical. Agriculture accounts for 10% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions; 30% of the world’s. Globally, agriculture encompasses 97% of all habitable land on the planet. In short: an answer to agriculture’s sustainability is critical to any hopes of reversing our current acceleration to climate breakdown and an uninhabitable planet.
The National Farmers Union – which declared the ambitious target of agriculture reaching net-zero by 2040 – is putting high hopes on offsetting emissions by sequestering carbon on farms and growing biofuel. The sector has pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2040, but progress so far has been slow. A report this year found Europe’s agriculture sector cut emissions by just 1% between 2005-2018.
Hemp scientifically proven to be the ultimate carbon capturer
As the optimum way of capturing and storing carbon indefinitely, hemp can play an important role in helping farms become carbon-neutral. And in enabling farmers to both look after their land and look forward to a more lucrative farming future.
Hemp has been scientifically proven to be the ultimate carbon capturer. Scientists estimate for every ton of hemp grown, 1.63 tons of carbon dioxide are removed from the atmosphere – more than trees or any commercial crop.
What’s more, with industrial hemp – turning the plant into hempcrete or other building materials – this storage is permanent.
Growing global carbon markets
The total value of global carbon markets grew a solid 34% in 2019. The trading turnover hit a record $214 billion last year – marking a third consecutive year of growth. This is only set to continue as countries look to cut and solve carbon emissions.
Emitters can purchase a limited number of carbon ‘offsets’ from landowners and farmers. Emitters pay for the privilege of generating greenhouse gases, and farmers are paid to implement practices that reduce carbon emissions. In terms of agriculture, this will be good news for both the planet and the pocket.
The demand for carbon offsets is only going to grow as companies and industries look for ways to reach net-zero. This provides farmers with an invaluable opportunity to cash in on a lucrative market while better looking after their land.
A chief obstacle in any hopes of cashing in on the carbon market is an effective, reliable way of measuring carbon – whether that’s in the soil or per plant. It’s something we’re looking at tackling at Nature’s Data. Stay tuned.