LIFE shows the way forward on carbon farming in Europe

As Europe aims to decarbonise its economy and move to sustainable competitiveness, carbon sequestration in forests and soils - known as carbon farming - is increasingly in the spotlight. LIFE carbon farming projects play an important role in testing, demonstrating, and scaling up practical solutions for carbon farming, ecosystem restoration, and climate mitigation in Europe's land sector.

2026 marks a decisive moment for Europe's land sector, as attention shifts from pilots and testing to practical implementation and scaling up in line with the EU Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) Regulation. As Christian Holzleitner, Head of Unit for Land Economy and Carbon Removals at DG CLIMA told the summit , 'the focus is now on ensuring that carbon farming delivers measurable climate impact while creating real value for farmers and land managers.'

LIFE took part in the 3rd European Carbon Farming Summit (ECFS26) alongside over 700 policymakers, entrepreneurs, scientists, farmers and land managers; the event, which was partly funded by the EU, is one of the world's leading gatherings dedicated to carbon farming.

As well as the LIFE Programme stand - which attracted considerable interest over the 3-day event - several LIFE projects presented their experiences and results from different land-use sectors. LIFE ClimatePositive and WOOD4LIFE both focus on sustainable forest management, carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems and developing carbon credits linked to forest-based value chains. LIFE VitiCaSe and LIFE Oliver shared their carbon farming experiences in vineyards and olive groves, including soil carbon sequestration, sustainable soil management and carbon footprint reduction in Mediterranean agricultural systems.

Peatlands are one of Europe's most important carbon sinks, yet only 10% of EU peatlands are in a good ecological condition. Degraded peatlands release stored CO2 and switch from carbon absorbers to carbon emitters. LIFE PeatCarbon , LIFE MultiPeat and LIFE SUPER EU contributed to discussions on links between peatland restoration and carbon removal. The projects showcased the positive climate, biodiversity and water management impacts of peatland rewetting and restoration.

The significant role played by the food production sector in carbon farming was also highlighted - LIFE BiodivCrEW and LIFE-BGP-Food presented their work on credit standards and biodiversity credits, focusing in particular on European wetlands and the food sector value chain.

The 9 LIFE projects involved in ECFS26 support the aims of the CRCF which in turn aligns with the decarbonisation pillar of the EU sustainable competitiveness strategy. With a budget of €5.4 billion spanning 2021-2027, the LIFE Programme has co-funded more than 6 500 projects since its inception 34 years ago - including more than €150 million invested in more than 30 projects since 2021 supporting carbon farming, carbon sequestration and carbon credits.