Temporary Carbon Units from Carbon Farming and EU Agri-food Climate Policy
Risks, opportunities and policy design choices
- Publication
- Citation
McDonald, H., Siemons, A., Fallasch, F., Gardiner, J., Scheid, A., Scheffler, M., & Wiegmann, K. (2026). Temporary carbon units from carbon farming and EU agri-food climate policy: Risks, opportunities and policy design choices [Poster presentation]. European Carbon Farming Summit 2026, Padua, Italy. Ecologic Institute & Oeko-Institut.
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 the potential integration of temporary carbon units from the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) Regulation into the three policy options currently under discussion at EU level:
- Agricultural Emissions Trading System (AgETS)
- Mandatory Climate Standards (MCS)
- Public procurement schemes
While AgETS and MCS policies have strong potential to drive emission reductions, using temporary carbon units for offsetting raises significant environmental integrity concerns.
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.
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