Reality Cheques - Agri-culture: Reconnecting People, Land and Nature - page 69

reduction of carbon emissions and the expansion of carbon sinks in order
to address climate change. Under the protocol and the 2001 Bonn and
Marakesh agreement, the principle of financial and technological transfers
to land management projects and initiatives was established. Article 17
permits countries to produce certified emissions reductions (also known
as offsets) and emissions reductions units through joint implementation
projects. Since it is cheaper for many countries to abate greenhouse gas
emissions, working together for joint implementation is, in theory, a cost-
effective mechanism for achieving global targets.
Nevertheless, for real impacts on climate change to occur, sinks must
become permanent. If lands under conservation tillage are ploughed, then
all the gains in soil carbon and organic matter are lost. This poses a big
challenge for trading systems, as there is no such thing as a permanent
emissions reduction or a permanently sequestered tonne of carbon.
Despite these uncertainties, carbon banks, boards of trade, and trading
systems emerged during the year 2000. The early carbon trading systems
set per-tonne credit values mostly in the US$2 to US$10 range, though
the real value of each tonne sequestered is much higher. The important
policy questions centre on how to establish permanent or indefinite sinks,
how to prevent leakage, such as re-ploughing of zero-tilled fields or
deforestation, how to agree measurements, and whether the cost of
implementation can be justified as a result of additional side effects or
multifunctionality .
We do not yet know how much carbon could be locked up in response
to monetary incentives for carbon sequestration. The empirical evidence
is relatively sparse, and practical experience even more limited. No agreed
system of payment levels has yet been established. Another unresolved
issue relates to the location for the greatest carbon returns on investments.
Investments in creating sustainable systems in the tropics are likely to be
cheaper than in temperate regions, where industrialized agriculture
prevails. Such financial transfers from industrialized to developing
countries could produce substantial net global benefits, as well as benefit
poor farmers. At current prices, it is clear that farmers will not solely
become 'carbon farmers'. However, systems that accumulate carbon are
also delivering many other public goods, such as improved biodiversity and
clean water from watersheds. Policy-makers may also seek to price these
in order to increase the total payment package. Carbon, therefore,
represents an important new source of income for farmers, as well as
encouraging them to adopt sustainable practices.