PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Manmade climate change is a widely accepted fact. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, anthropogenic emissions have led to an increase in concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere, thereby contributing to global warming. Combating climate change is a key priority for the EU, which has put in place specific targets for 2020, including: a 20% reduction in GHG emissions; a 20% share of the energy mix from renewable sources; and a 20% increase in energy efficiency. The Council of Europe has set the target of an 80-95% reduction in GHG emissions by 2050.
Agriculture is one of the most vulnerable sectors to theeffects of climate change. However, it is also one of the main contributors to the problem: emissions from agriculture accounted for 10.3 % of all GHG emissions in the EU in 2009. But different agricultural practices and technologies have been developed to help mitigate GHG emissions. These include the improved management of arable and grazing land, and the restoration of degraded and cultivated organic soils. While these approaches have obtained some success, the overall impact is not sufficient and in some cases, measures undertaken can have an adverse effect on other aspects of sustainability, such as biodiversity and food security.
OBJECTIVES
The SOLMACC Life project aimed to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of a set of innovative, climate-friendly farm practices applied by organic farmers under experimental conditions. These practices would demonstrate benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation, while also being in line with European environmental objectives. The project thus aimed to promote the widespread adoption of environmentally friendly farming practices based on organic principles and to inform the ongoing development of policy and debate around climate change and agriculture.
The project planned to demonstrate a set of innovative, climate-friendly farming practices:
These would be implemented on 12 organic farms in Sweden, Germany and Italy.
The project expected to achieve a reduction of around 15% in the carbon footprint of plant products and improve resilience to the consequences of climate change on the pilot farms. It also expected to show coherence with other sustainability objectives of the EU, such as the control of soil erosion, biodiversity conservation and enhancement, and the efficient management of natural resources, such as water.
RESULTS
The pilot initiatives developed by the SOLMACC Life project confirmed the technical feasibility, climate mitigation and adaptation effects of these climate-friendly farming practices.
Scientific monitoring showed that the 12 farms reduced GHG emissions from agricultural activities and that the farms significantly improved their ability to adapt to the negative effects of climate change by implementing climate-friendly farming practices. Other benefits, such as positive impacts on soil quality, biodiversity and resource conservation, were also modelled. The project moreover showed that the practices are economically viable for the farmers: the cost of implementing them was not greater in most cases and yields either remained stable or improved. Furthermore, the climate-friendly practices help legitimise public spending through CAP and maintain employment in rural areas, given that organic farming practices are commonly more labour intensive.
The project results led to the drawing up of policy recommendations, which were fed into EU policy debate around climate change and agriculture through the hosting of 14 lobbying meetings. The projects experiences with the new agricultural techniques have also helped build up the knowledge of students and teachers in European educational institutes. They were also disseminated to farmers, farm advisors, policy-makers and other relevant stakeholders. A manual and demonstration video on how to apply climate-friendly farm practices in different EU climate zones were produced in English, Swedish, German and Italian.
The project contributed to the 7th Environment Action Programme, especially the key objective to protect, conserve and enhance the EUs natural capital and to turn it into a resource-efficient, green, and competitive low-carbon economy. It also contributed to the Roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050 and the Common Agricultural Policy towards 2020 with regards to carbon sequestration and protection of carbon in soils based on innovation.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).
