On 9 July, the European Commission adopted a Delegated Act and its Annex establishing methodologies to certify carbon farming activities.
The use of organic soil improvers and organic fertiliser is eligible as a carbon farming activity when it is combined with improved crop management practices. However, the Act refers to the EU Fertilising Products Regulation, which could limit certification only to CE-marked products.
The scope of the certification methodologies also covers GHG associated emissions, such as an increase in N2O emissions from managed agricultural soils or in fuel combustion from field operations or transport to the activity area, which are compared with a baseline scenario. In addition, the text requires that the activity is not financially viable in the absence of revenues from the certification by means of an investment analysis via a simple cost test or an investment comparison test.
The Delegated Act will be transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council for a two-month scrutiny period. In the absence of abjections, it is expected to be officially published in early Autumn.