Carbon farming in Europe, policies of symbolic reassurance

Abstract

In this perspective, we unpack how carbon farming is presented in current European Union (EU) policies. Specifically, we examine three EU frameworks: the European Green Deal, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) regulation, assessing their claims related to carbon farming on arable land. Key problematic tensions emerge. The European green deal sets broad expectations of carbon removals but the role of carbon farming is undefined. In the CRCF, market-based incentives and their resulting economic benefits take centre stage, but the policy remains silent on the end-use of carbon removal and carbon reduction credits. This omission risks turning a formal separation of removals and reductions into a practical equivalence, exacerbating the risk of mitigation deterrence (i.e. the delay of essential emission cuts). Meanwhile, the CAP employs broad indicators without explicitly measuring soil carbon sequestration, creating ambiguity about the real mitigation impact. We argue that underpinning these tensions is a tendency to simplify soil processes and narrow them into measurable units, ignoring important uncertainties, and creating an illusion of control and progress. In doing so, policies risk becoming a form of symbolic reassurance, appearing effective while stalling further meaningful action and missing opportunities to link carbon farming with broader environmental goals and ensure the sustained adoption of farming practices.