Contribution project

Turning soils into carbon sinks across Europe

Europe, continentwide

ClimatePartner ID: 1740

Project details

Regenerative agricultureGet to know the project

Conventional cropland management in parts of Europe is still shaped by intensive soil tillage, narrow crop rotations and a heavy use of synthetic inputs. This can weaken soil structure, reduce biodiversity, raise erosion risks and keep farms dependent on costly inputs. The agriculture sector accounts for about 11 percent of GHG emissions across Europe (EEA, 2022). At the same time, agriculture can be part of the answer: Healthy soils sequester large amounts of carbon and help mitigate the impacts of climate change.

This project helps farmers move toward regenerative agricultural land management that lowers emissions and increases carbon removals by building soil organic carbon. As part of the project, farmers shift to less intensive tillage, leave and manage crop residues to protect the soil, integrate cover and catch crops, reduce their reliance on synthetic fertilisers by using organic options where suitable, and apply nitrification inhibitors to help reduce soil emissions. Together these practices can cut fuel and input related emissions and increase organic matter in the soil. Each year, the project saves about 543,360 tonnes of carbon emissions.

Over time this supports stronger soil functions such as better water retention and improved resilience in dry or extreme weather years.

The project is organised as a grouped approach across Europe and currently includes activity instances in ten countries. These include Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Moldova, Spain and Ukraine. Beyond climate impact, the project aims to deliver ecological benefits by improving soil fertility, supporting biodiversity and strengthening the long term resilience of agricultural systems.

543,369 t CO₂Estimated annual emissions reductions

Project Standard

The project contributes to the the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals

How regenerative agriculture contributes to climate action

With food and agriculture accounting for one-fourth of all global greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning to more sustainable farming practices is one of the key climate action measures. Regenerative agriculture can reduce emissions, increase carbon removals and improve soil quality.

Reduced soil disturbance supports good soil structure, can increase soil organic carbon and helps conserve moisture. By maintaining a healthier, more biodiverse soil ecosystem, it can lower erosion risk and reduce fuel use through fewer or lighter field operations. The use of cover crops can improve soil organic carbon and fertility by capturing excess nutrients after harvest. Cover crops also help conserve soil moisture, reduce erosion, reduce compaction and lower nutrient losses.

The use of organic fertilisers can improve nutrient availability and increase soil organic matter, supporting healthier, more resilient plants and more robust farming systems. Because nutrients are often released more gradually, this approach can, when applied appropriately, reduce the risk of surface runoff, erosion and plant stress.

Finally, improved residue management means leaving crop residues such as straw and stalks on the field and distributing them as mulch, so the soil remains covered by a protective plant layer. This shields soils from erosion and extreme temperatures while retaining moisture. Returning residues to the soil adds organic matter and can contribute to higher soil carbon over time. Climate projects in the ClimatePartner portfolio are registered with international standards.

The project aims to contribute to these United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Project facts

Climate projects generally fall into one of three groups: carbon reduction, carbon removal, or carbon avoidance. Carbon reduction projects reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by a specific activity (e.g., improved cookstoves). Carbon removal projects remove carbon from the atmosphere by sequestering it in carbon sinks (e.g., reforestation). Carbon avoidance projects avoid greenhouse gas emissions entering the atmosphere (e.g., protecting forests from deforestation with REDD+ projects).

All climate projects are based on international standards. They set processes and requirements which carbon projects must fulfill to be recognised as a proven method of reducing carbon emissions.

Climate projects demonstrably reduce, remove, or avoid greenhouse gas emissions. This is achieved with various technologies, ranging from nature-based solutions to social impact projects and renewable energies.

Most standards on the voluntary carbon market list their projects in public registries. The registries are used to store project data and track issuances and retirements of verified emission reductions. The registry ID can be used to identify projects in the standard registry.

Check out this project

Climate projects go through third-party validation and verification. Verification happens regularly after each monitoring period. A validation and verification body checks and assesses whether the values and project activities stated in the monitoring report are correct and verifies them. As with validation, visits to the project site are often part of the process.

Climate projects go through third-party validation and verification. Validation happens early in the project life cycle and ensures that the project design is in line with current processes and requirements. This phase often also involves field visits with on-site interviews and analyses. Auditors are accredited, impartial assessors who have to be approved as a validation and verification body (VVB) by the standards body.

This figure shows the estimated annual emission reductions calculated before the project started. The actual number of emissions saved in each monitoring period may differ. The background to this process is that in order to be registered as a climate project, the project operator must submit the calculation of the estimated emissions savings using the ex-ante methodology in a Project Design Document (PDD), which is similar to a business plan. This calculation is validated by an independent auditor. The values determined in the PDD are recalculated during regular monitoring periods based on actual project performance, documented in a monitoring report, and verified again by independent auditors at the end of the monitoring period to ensure a robust process. Independent verification thus provides ex-post verification of actual emission reductions. Verified emission reductions are not distributed until the savings have actually been made.

Four criteria for projects to meet quality thresholds

01. AdditionalityA project must lead to lower carbon emissions than would have occured without the project. Additionality also means that a project relies on financing from the sale of emission reductions, as the project would otherwise not be feasible and the upfront investment would be too high for project developers.

02. Exclusion of double countingThe carbon reduction may only be counted once and may not be counted again elsewhere, so a Verified Emission Reduction is retired once it has been used. This process is recorded in official registries.

03. PermanenceThe criterion of permanence ensures that carbon reductions or removals are ongoing and do not occur just once. This guarantees a long-term benefit for the climate. The minimum duration of a project depends on the underlying project technology.

04. Audit by independent third-partiesClimate projects must be audited regularly by independent auditors such as TÜV Nord. These auditors verify that the project is in compliance with the relevant standards. They also determine the volume of carbon emissions that have actually been avoided or removed.

The life cycle of a climate project

A climate project has a set life cycle consisting of various phases, from the feasibility assessment to the retirement of Verified Emission Reductions (VERs).

Project planning phase

The project developer reviews the general feasibility of the project, the project design, and the financing. Then, the Project Design Document (PDD) is prepared, which contains all the basic information about the project, such as the objective, location, timeline, and duration.

Validation

In this phase, independent auditors examine the PDD and the information it contains. This phase often also involves field visits with on-side interviews and analyses. Auditors are accredited, impartial assessors who have to be approved by the relevant standard as a validation and verification body (VVB). TÜV Nord/Süd, S&A Carbon LLC., and SCS Global Services are examples of VVBs."

Registration

Once validated, the project can be registered with a standard such as the Verified Carbon Standard or the Gold Standard. All high-quality climate projects are based on international standards. They provide the framework for project design, construction, carbon accounting, and monitoring. Recognised standards make the climate project system and the projects themselves resilient, traceable, and credible.

Monitoring

After the climate project has been registered, the monitoring begins. Here, the project developers monitor and document the data of the project activities and progress. The duration of the monitoring phase varies from project to project: it can cover two years, but documentation over five or seven years is also possible.

Verification

At the end of each monitoring phase, a VVB checks and assesses whether the values and project activities stated in the monitoring report are correct. As with validation, visits to the project site are often part of the verification process.

Issuance of Verified Emission Reductions

Once verified, the emission reductions that were confirmed in the verification phase can be issued as VERs. The steps of monitoring, verification, and issuance of VERs are repeated regularly and are therefore considered as a cycle.

Retirement of Verified Emission Reductions

Once a VER has been used, it must be retired. This process is also reflected in the registry. If the financing of a climate project is done through ClimatePartner, the VERs are bundled in a system certified by TÜV Austria and then retired on a regular basis. This ensures that each VER can no longer be sold and is only used once, preventing double counting.

* For certified projects only: the project-related information on this page is based on the documents in the register.

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