Harnessing fields as carbon sinks on farms

Challenge

In preventing climate change, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions alone is not enough. The extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere must also be stored back in soil. New solutions must be developed to fight climate change.

Solution

The Carbon Action pilot project from Sitra, the Baltic Sea Action Group and the Finnish Meteorological Institute studies the storage of carbon from the atmosphere in soil and tests the impact of different farm solutions on carbon sequestration in soil. The project will also examine what kind of steering measures could encourage farms to adopt solutions that would enhance carbon sequestration.

From 2020 onwards, the project will continue without funding from Sitra. The goal is to commit more farmers, companies, towns and cities to the project and to develop scientific modelling and verification of carbon sequestration. The dairy manufacturer Valio will also contribute towards these goals by beginning to provide training to entrepreneurs running milk farms using carbon sequestration methods.