碳市场对保护、恢复和提高土壤碳的激励（英文版）_60页_2mb

Summary of Carbon Market Incentives to Conserve, Restore and Enhance Soil Carbon

Core Content

This report, authored by Moritz von Unger and Igino Emmer with input from The Nature Conservancy and other organizations, explores the potential of carbon markets to support soil carbon conservation, restoration, and enhancement as a tool for climate change mitigation. It focuses on the role of soil carbon in global climate policy, the current state of carbon finance for soil carbon projects, and the opportunities and challenges for scaling these initiatives.

Main Objectives

• To assess the state and prospects of carbon finance for soil carbon projects.
• To evaluate the technical feasibility and market potential of soil carbon interventions.
• To identify key challenges and opportunities for expanding soil carbon projects in agriculture and land management.
• To highlight the importance of soil carbon in achieving low-carbon, climate-smart agriculture and global climate goals.

Key Messages

• Soil Carbon Projects are Rare: Less than 20 global projects sequester or reduce $\mathrm{CO}_{2}$ emissions through soil carbon management, with most efforts concentrated on peatland restoration and agricultural soil sequestration.
• Technical Barriers are Minimal: Robust methodologies now exist for various land-use categories, including croplands, grasslands, savannahs, and peatlands, enabling reliable carbon accounting and project development.
• Market Potential is Growing: The voluntary carbon market is increasingly interested in projects that offer co-benefits, such as biodiversity conservation, water retention, and food security. Soil carbon projects, which provide these co-benefits, are in high demand.
• Compliance Markets are Emerging: Regulatory frameworks in New Zealand and Australia are beginning to include agricultural emissions, which may open new opportunities for soil carbon projects.
• Challenges Remain: Transaction costs are high, land tenure issues persist, and scalability is a major concern. Additionally, the Paris Agreement may not yet include soil carbon in its formal market mechanisms, though it is a priority for climate-smart agriculture.
• Public Support is Essential: Governments must create supportive policy environments, including legal reforms, funding mechanisms, and land-use planning to enable the success of soil carbon projects.

Key Features of Soil Carbon Projects

• Project Development Cycle: Includes planning, implementation, monitoring, and verification.
• Potential Activities: Peatland rewetting, avoided conversion, and soil restoration practices.
• Carbon Accounting Methodologies: Vary by project type and require standardized approaches.
• Project Boundaries: Must be clearly defined to avoid leakage and ensure accurate measurement.
• Leakage and Permanence: Key concerns that need to be addressed through careful project design and monitoring.
• Additionality: Projects must demonstrate that they result in emissions reductions that would not have occurred otherwise.

Standards and Frameworks

• Voluntary Standards: Include Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), American Carbon Registry (ACR), Climate Action Reserve (CAR), and Plan Vivo.
• Hybrid Schemes: Combine voluntary and compliance elements to increase market access.
• Compliance Markets: Are starting to include agricultural emissions, offering new opportunities for soil carbon projects.

Opportunities and Challenges

• Opportunities:
  • Growing interest in co-benefits from the voluntary market.
  • Emerging regulatory frameworks in compliance markets.
  • Potential inclusion of soil carbon in the Paris Agreement's market mechanisms.
  • Increasing number of projects in development, with shorter implementation timelines.
• Challenges:
  • High transaction costs and limited project numbers.
  • Land tenure and zoning uncertainties.
  • Complexity of validation and verification processes.
  • Need for more scalable and affordable project formats.

Case Studies and Future Outlook

• The report references the 4 per 1000 Initiative and the Northern Kenya Grassland Project, which are examples of successful soil carbon interventions.
• CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) is expected to include the land-use sector, potentially boosting demand for soil carbon credits.
• The Paris Agreement may encourage broader inclusion of soil carbon in future market mechanisms, particularly through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other cross-cutting interventions.

Recommendations

• Support for Small-Scale Projects: Standards must be adapted to include small and micro interventions.
• Government Role: Governments should guarantee offtake, support land tenure reforms, and establish centralized funding mechanisms.
• Public-Private Collaboration: Non-state actors and public finance can play a crucial role in promoting and scaling soil carbon projects.
• Integration with Climate Policy: Soil carbon projects should be embedded in broader climate strategies such as NDCs, REDD+, and NAMAs.
• Improving Standards: Simplification and cost reduction in project design, registration, and verification are necessary for wider adoption.

Conclusion

Soil carbon projects have the potential to significantly contribute to climate change mitigation, offering multiple co-benefits. While the market is still in its early stages, there are promising signs of growth and increased recognition. To realize this potential, technical and policy support is essential, particularly for scaling and ensuring long-term permanence and additionality. Governments, NGOs, and private sector actors must work together to build the necessary frameworks and support systems for soil carbon initiatives.