French livestock farmers paid to remove carbon

The Teagasc National Beef Conference took place in Ballinasloe, Co Galway. Picture: Teagasc

Attendees at the National Beef Conference learned how 1,250 French farmers are paid for their verified emission reductions and carbon removals.

About 2,500 low-carbon projects on these farms are certified by the French government, with an average of 550 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq) avoided per farm.

At the Beef Conference, Anaïs L’Hote from the French Livestock Institute (IDELE) said there is a payment of €40/t of CO2-equivalent, which includes €32 for the farmer. 

There is €5 for the company that advises the farmers, and €3 for the France Carbon Agri (FCAA), a company created by breeders’ associations, which makes the link between farmers, advisory organisations, the French Ministry for Ecological Transition, and the funders of low-carbon projects, which are mainly companies buying carbon credits.

The projects are part of the “Label Bas Carbone” certification framework, which is managed by the Ministry, and was created in 2018, to certify low-carbon projects in France. 

A Label Bas Carbone project is defined as one with a limited lifetime that reduces emissions or stores carbon. The emissions reductions achieved are verified by an independent auditor, and then recognised by the Ministry.

It is part of France’s bid aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, which requires a fourfold reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, compared to 1990.

Farms seeking Label Bas Carbone certification must be under a stocking rate equivalent to 170kg of organic nitrogen per hectare. The initial stage involves establishing baseline values for a farm’s carbon stocks and greenhouse gas emissions. The French Livestock Institute has developed the Carbon Agri Method to assess the carbon footprint of farms. 

“It’s based on lifecycle analysis and all the farm is taken into account”, Anaïs explained. “Not only the emissions coming from the farm, but also manufacture and transportation of inputs”. Both direct and indirect emissions reductions, as well as carbon storage, are assessed.

Label Bas Carbone projects last up to five years. An initial carbon audit is carried out on the farm. The farmer, together with the adviser, agrees on a carbon plan, choosing from a range of potential practices which may address inputs, fuel and electricity consumption, crop management, fertiliser application, herd management, feed and/or manure management. Any practices that reduce GHG emissions or which increase carbon sequestration can be included.

Following acceptance by the Ministry, the farmer implements the plan, supported by the advisor. Other indicators that are monitored include biodiversity, ammonia emissions, water quality, renewable energy production, soya consumption, irrigation, surfaces with plant cover, and the quantity of products sold through direct distribution.

A midterm review is undertaken so that any necessary adjustments can be made. “The carbon gain is the tonnes of CO2 avoided thanks to this project”, Anaïs explained. The tons of CO2-eq ‘avoided’ (reduced or removed) by the farmer are determined from a final independent carbon audit. This compares the baseline data prior to the commencement of the project in Year 1 with the reductions achieved.

The role of France Carbon Agri (FCAA) is to act as a representative of the farmers, undertaking many of the administrative processes such as submitting farmers’ files to the Ministry to get the labelling, as well as liaising with advisors and those purchasing carbon credits. It saves farmers time and costs, also hiring the external auditors to verify emissions reductions.

The Label Bas Carbone certifies emissions reductions. These certificates are purchased by companies or public organisations to offset their residual emissions or to make a voluntary contribution to climate change mitigation. These include banks, agrifood industries, restaurant chains, energy companies, service companies and so forth.

For example, in France, Lidl decided to fund its beef suppliers’ Label Bas Carbone projects.

Other companies buy the Label Bas Carbone certificates to voluntarily offset their residual emissions or to advertise their involvement in a low-carbon transition initiative. A recent law passed by the French government stipulates that airlines will have to offset all the emissions generated by local flights from 2024.

A second law targets emissions from coal-fired power plants. The French government authorised some of these power plants to extend their functioning for the winter only on the condition of offsetting all their emissions, decreeing that it is mandatory for them to fund French low-carbon projects.

Anaïs explained that the level of trust in Europe generally in carbon credits tends to be low, with some instances of over-estimation of the credits eroding their credibility. There are also issues of lack of transparency by some companies purchasing carbon credits. 

She said that there are some reservations in some quarters also about the Label Bas Carbone approach because it generates certificates rather than carbon credits per see, and the certificates are non-transferable.

Also, there are suggestions that the results are measured too late in the life of the project to fully capture the emissions reductions achieved. However, Label Bas Carbone is acknowledged to be certifying high-quality projects.