CLIMATE - SOIL - BALTIC SEA - BIODIVERSITY
Carbon Action is a Finnish platform that develops and researches ways of accelerating soil carbon sequestration and how to verify the results scientifically. It also introduces climate-friendly, regenerative farming practices to Finnish farms.
Our most recent update: Towards regenerative agriculture – where are we now? >>
Cutting emissions is no longer enough to mitigate climate change – we must also find ways of increasing the carbon sinks. The sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide to soil through nature’s own processes is one of the most effective climate solutions.
Climate-smart agriculture enhances soil health as it restores the carbon content, which, in turn, improves productivity. It also increases biodiversity and ecosystem resilience and provides many other benefits like water infiltration and nutrient retention. As the Carbon Action pilot project takes place in Finland, which is part of the Baltic Sea catchment area, the Baltic Sea is the first to benefit from decreasing nutrient loads.
Harnessing the potential of the soil to sequester carbon requires that we combine scientific research with farmer training and effective long-term interaction and information exchange. Healthy soil is achieved by maximizing the soil microflora and photosynthesis by plants with permanent vegetative cover and by minimizing tillage and the use of pesticides and inorganic fertilizers.
Carbon Action is a project introduced in 2017 by Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG) with initial funding from Sitra. The Finnish Meteorological Institute is responsible for the research cooperation, while BSAG is responsible for the big picture and the cooperation with businesses and farmers. During the two-year period financed by Sitra the Carbon Action pilot has grown into a platform containing multiple projects, funders, farmers, advisors, researchers and companies.
Carbon Action platform offers a holistic approach:
The objectives of the Carbon Action Platform:
Carbon Action aims at multiple benefits: improved yield, biodiversity and resilience, climate change mitigation and reduction of emissions to water bodies such as the Baltic Sea.
The specific objectives of the Carbon Action platform are:
-Research and develop ways to accelerate and scientifically verify soil carbon storage
-Promote and experiment multi-beneficial regenerative cultivation practices improving soil health on farms
-Develop financial and other steering mechanisms for the widespread adoption of these solutions in Finland and elsewhere
– Mobilize the actors needed for systemic change
Carbon farming gets a lot of attention in the current Government Programme:
News, 6.6.2019: https://www.bsag.fi/en/finnish-government-programme-takes-the-environmental-crises-seriously/
