Climatelinks’ Post

🌱 Harnessing Abandoned Farmlands for Climate Action! 🌍 A recent study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison has unveiled a groundbreaking tool that maps nearly 30 million acres of abandoned U.S. cropland, which could revolutionize our approach to renewable energy and carbon sequestration. Key Highlights: - Machine Learning Innovation: Researchers used advanced machine learning to create detailed maps of cropland abandoned since the 1980s. - Potential for Bioenergy: Identified lands can support bioenergy crops like switchgrass and sorghum, reducing our carbon footprint and serving as sustainable feedstocks. - Guiding Sustainable Investments: This tool helps direct clean energy investments, minimizing competition with food production and promoting ecosystem restoration. Led by Yanhua Xie and Tyler Lark, the study offers a precise, field-level view of abandoned farmlands, presenting an incredible opportunity for climate mitigation and renewable energy development. This research, published in Environmental Research Letters, emphasizes the untapped potential of these lands, which are primarily located in the Great Plains and along the Mississippi River. Why It Matters: - Climate Mitigation: By understanding and utilizing these lands, we can significantly contribute to reducing greenhouse gases. - Balancing Energy and Food Production: The tool provides a strategic approach to balancing renewable energy production with agricultural needs. As we continue to explore sustainable solutions, this innovative approach to repurposing abandoned croplands stands out as a beacon of hope for a greener future. Let's seize this opportunity to turn unused lands into powerful assets for climate action. #ClimateAction #SustainableEnergy #Bioenergy #RenewableResources #CarbonSequestration #GreenInnovation #CleanEnergy 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gWf2Jq6x

📢𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 Get a quick overview of the HarvRESt project in this newly released video👇 The project has been launched to address the need of enhancing the use of renewable energy technologies (#RES) along with #sustainable #farming methods, aiming to help the agricultural and food industry reduce carbon emissions. The integration of RES on farms offers many benefits for both the farmers and the climate. With this approach farms will: ✔become climate neutral ✔optimise their production ✔reduce their impact on natural resources ✔reduce their impact on biodiversity ✔provide energy services to communities ✔diversify their economic income

🤝 Our partners, farmers, and growers continually cultivate resilience—during challenging times they persevere 💪 🔄 The ability to survive and thrive in changing circumstances can be challenging for the best of us. ❄ As the cold creeps in this winter...take some time to refresh, recharge, and renew - maybe a good read? 📚 🌾 What is Agricultural Resilience? What does a three-legged stool have to do with it? 🔍 Learn more from University of Minnesota's Joel Tallaksen, Renewable Energy and Sustainability Scientist  https://lnkd.in/guUgsxHD  

The Herald, Zimbabwe. Tuesday 12 September 2023 ‘Grant youths access to agric technology and boost productivity’ Mangaliso Lawrence Kabulika TO get youths’ optimal participation and contribution to the current technological revolution sweeping through the agriculture sector, it is important to enhance their access to technologies such as drones and satellites that are crucial in the fight against climate change challenges, an expert has said. Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) national youth secretary, Mr Joshua Zinzombe who recently attended the Africa Climate Summit and Africa Climate Week 2023 (ACS) in Kenya yesterday said sustainable agricultural practises such as Pfumvudza, satellite and drone usage, measuring carbon credits and biogas fertilisers could enhance the country’s productivity, as it battles to overcome climate change. Mr Zinzombe said the use of renewable energy for income generating activities was among the key discussion topics at the ACS. “Youths in agriculture must adopt renewable energy, which is being spearheaded to encourage the removal or reduction of carbon emissions in the atmosphere. New energy value chains such as solar irrigation, cold chains and bio-digesters are clean and renewable, which saves the environment,” said Mr Zinzombe. He also explained the role of carbon credits as financial instruments: “There is a potential for carbon credits to contribute to the much needed finance towards climate projections across the continent. If a farmer plants trees, they can take in a lot of carbon and experts will come and calculate the carbon they would have absorbed with various carbon-producing companies paying the farmers.” “As we are entering a new season, which may be affected by El Nino, there is need to use water sustainably. We have for example, hydroponics that involves growing plants using a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil. It can be used by small-scale farmers or commercial enterprises,” he said. Mr Zinzombe also explained why it is important to include youths in agriculture in conversations regarding climate change.“Young people are supposed to be the nucleus in all discussions regarding climate change. There should be a cross pollination of ideas between adults and youths in formulating climate smart polices, as they play a major role in coming up with climate smart innovations in agriculture,” he said. Mr Zinzombe also shed light on how the National ClimatePolicy is being adopted by other African countries. “Youths have the potential to change the agriculture sector if they are involved in these climate smart initiatives. There is also need for those in rural areas to participate in climate smart related projects such as bee keeping. There is an economic opportunity for a multi- billion-dollar agriculture sector in Africa if they all contribute,” he added. “Through the support of the Government, the SACAU and Environment Defence Fund (EDF).

Via UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries - Projecting contributions of marine protected areas to rebuild fish stocks under climate change - npj Ocean Sustainability: No-take marine protected areas (No-take MPAs) are considered as a major tool for conserving marine biodiversity and ecosystem services. No-take MPAs can also contribute to climate adaptation for exploited fish stocks. Meanwhile, many fish stocks in the world are overfished and management institutions are developing plans to rebuild them. Understanding the potential effects of no-take MPAs on fish stocks under climate change can help develop strategies for climate-resilient stock rebuilding. Here, using a linked climate-fish-fishing model, we undertake simulation experiments to examine the effects of no-take MPAs on biomass and potential catches of 231 exploited fish and invertebrate species in eight marine ecoregions in the Northeast Atlantic under climate change. The simulations include different levels of fishing, no-take MPAs coverage, atmospheric global warming levels, and account for the expected displacement of fishing to the area around the no-take MPAs. Average individual stock biomass is projected to decrease by 5–15% per degree Celsius atmospheric warming. Having 30% of the distribution of over-exploited fish stocks under no-take MPAs together with conservation-focused fisheries management of these stocks are projected to offset the negative impacts on their biomass under 2.6–2.9 °C global warming. Meanwhile, potential catches increase when a portion of the over-exploited fish stocks is protected from fishing as higher biomass in the no-take MPAs spills-over to the surrounding areas. Our findings highlight that no-take MPAs, combined with reducing fishing intensity, can help rebuild over-exploited fish biomass and benefit their dependent fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic under projected climate change in the 21st century. https://lnkd.in/etZiykzJ

💡 What role publics could play in advacing carbon removal? 📃 New research article explores public concerns, attitudes and perceptions of #carbonremoval projects, including #daccs and #beccs. There are lots of interesting insights in the article, but it's worth highlighting three roles that general public and local communities could play, which were identified in discussions with focus groups in 22 countries: 1️⃣ Proactive self- or community engagements: in learning and knowledge dissemination; participating directly in hybrid, distributed and decentralized initiatives for ecosystems restorations, taking up #soilcarbon approaches in farming communities; consumer choice; and funding initiatives through donations. 2️⃣ Relying on government and industry to initiate information campaigns or educational programs through the national media and state/education institutions. 3️⃣ Consulting with governments and industries with local stakeholders on design and siting issues. This resonates with the findings of the research by Emma ter Mors It Matters to Be Heard 📣, underscoring the need for meaningful engagements with affected communities. (https://lnkd.in/ewEZfZqn) Read more in the link below 👇 Thanks Reja Sabet for flagging the article. #dac #ccs #aforestation #enhancedweathering #publicperceptions #publicengagement https://lnkd.in/e8C7sn2W

Such an interesting read! To summarize: Australia’s regulated carbon market, focused on land management and consistent demand, stands as a model for the world. Unlike voluntary carbon markets plagued by confusion and credibility issues, the country's clear rules and governmental support have created a robust system. The Australian Clean Energy Regulator expects 20 million ACCUs to be issued in 2024, driven by strong methodologies and growing private sector demand. ACCU prices have risen from A$12-15 to A$35-40, with projections of A$60-100 by 2033. Farmers and landowners can also benefit by adopting regenerative agriculture or changing land use to increase carbon storage, enhancing both income and land value. Australia's approach offers a clear path for monetizing positive climate impacts and can serve as a blueprint for other regions seeking effective climate solutions!

🌍🌿 A big thank you to Sun-Connect News for featuring our latest research, "Powering Agriculture With Renewable Energy: A Just Transition for Food Systems." The intertwined challenges of food insecurity #SDG2 and energy poverty #SDG7 are pressing issues that demand our attention. Our research delves deep into the complexities of the current agri-food system and the potential of Decentralized Renewable Energy (#DRE) to bring about transformative change. By prioritizing clean power and supporting the world's smallholder farmers, we can pave the way for a more equitable, sustainable, and resilient future. 🌱☀️ 🔗 Dive into the full article and discover the potential of DRE in reshaping our food systems and combating climate change:  https://lnkd.in/eCatndzf #FoodHeroes #EndFoodWaste #EndHunger #RenewableEnergy #PoweringAg #FoodSecurity #SustainableFarming #GlobalAgriculture #ClimateChange #ClimateAction #ClimateResilient #Decarbonization

Amazing! The European Union has reached an agreement on creating the world's first certification scheme for carbon removal. Besides the rigour that has gone into designing the Carbon Removal Certification Framework, building on a thorough analysis of existing crediting schemes and inputs from experts, I am seeing two significant extra’s: - On sustainability for carbon farming, the co-legislators have added indications on how the sustainability objectives must be understood and have included that a carbon farming activity must always generate at least a biodiversity co-benefit (including soil health and avoidance of land degradation). - For carbon farming activities, the provisional agreement gives member states the possibility to provide advice to farmers on the application procedure and allow synergies between the CAP’s identification system for agricultural parcels (LPIS) and the information generated by the certification process under this framework. So the EU is paving the way for including biodiversity AND establishing synergies between CRCF and the CAP system: potentially putting significant funding behind rewarding eco-system services and drive environmental outcomes at scale. More details https://lnkd.in/g2Cpqte2 Final steps to be concluded, but I am celebrating this big step by the EU.

Surveyar continues to push the boundaries of climate science with the development of an integrated solution to measure and quantify Greenhouse Gas for both natural and industrial emission sources and sinks. Leading governments, agencies and climate organisations (such as UNFCCC, OGMP framework, BEIS, CCAC and EU) have been moving rapidly to enhance the quality of climate change data. Guidance and legislative are changing to require real direct measurement and quantification of greenhouse gases, for both emissions and sinks. This is mainly driven by a greater need for granular evidence to increase reliability in climate decisions, whilst avoiding the complexities in devaluation through greenwashing. Surveyar Ltd has been awarded a major research and development funded project (SBRI UKRI Innovate UK) which is paired with the nationally strategic Greenhouse Gas Removal – Demonstrator (GGR-D) research programme (UK invests over £30m in large-scale greenhouse gas removal – UKRI). The awarded research has a specific focus on development of solutions for Measurement Reporting and Verification (MRV) of Greenhouse Gases. Surveyar Ltd completed Phase 1 of the MRV Greenhouse Gas project, in March 2023, with successful field trials on the GGR-D Biochar test site (Biochar - CO₂RE - The Greenhouse Gas Removal Hub). The new award for Phase 2 of the programme will allow the development of the technologies, software and workflow as well as field trial demonstration across an extended range of GGR-D projects, including: - peatland (GGR-Peat- removal by accelerated peat formation: UKCEH/ Manchester Uni "Build Back Boggier" | GHG Removal by Accelerated Peat Formation -ggrpeat.org), - agricultural (PBC4GGR Perennial Biomass Crops - Aberystwyth University PBC4GGR – Perennial Biomass Crops for Greenhouse Gas Removal) and - forestry (GGR Sustainable Treescapes demonstrator and decision tools: Forest Research Woodland creation and management - CO₂RE - The Greenhouse Gas Removal Hub (co2re.org)) sites. The groundbreaking technological solution is intended to allow significant improvement or refinement of GHG inventories, carbon verification schemes, climate based restoration projects and even increase the valuation of carbon credits. The project focus is on evidence-based, transparent GHG quantification with robust reporting of uncertainty to build and underpin credibility and trust. Surveyar will be working with a range of partners and collaborators including The University of Manchester, Mirico, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), Forest Research and Aberystwyth University.   Grant Allen; Sophie Purser, #GHG, #ghgemissions #ghgInventory, #Innovation, #MRV, #ESG, #climatechange, #carbon, #MRV, #Peatland, #Forestry, #Agtech Surveyar Ltd, 2023