Presented at the European Carbon Farming Summit 2026, this poster highlights key findings on the risks, opportunities and policy implications of integrating temporary carbon units from carbon farming into EU agri-food climate policy.

Carbon farming is increasingly seen as a tool to support the agricultural transition. However, many practices provide temporary climate benefits, as changes in management or external factors can reverse stored carbon.

The poster examines three policy options currently under discussion at EU level: an Agricultural Emissions Trading System (AgETS), Mandatory Climate Standards (MCS), and public procurement schemes. While these instruments can drive emission reductions, using temporary carbon units for offsetting raises significant concerns regarding environmental integrity.

Particularly for reversible measures such as soil carbon sequestration, risks are high. In contrast, approaches that avoid offsetting, such as publicly funded procurement, perform better in safeguarding climate outcomes.

The analysis presented on the poster suggests that activity-based payments provide a more credible way to support carbon farming, especially for high-risk, temporary sequestration activities.