About the Code

The UK Farm Soil Carbon Code (UKFSCC) will consist of a set of formal protocols that allow farmers to quantify and verify reduced greenhouse gas emissions and/or soil carbon capture as a result of adopting regenerative farming practices.

The Code will be free to use and open access to all farmers. It will be straightforward, practical, affordable, accessible and achievable. It will be outcome-based, not practice-based.

The Code will be applicable for different ‘carbon accounting’ purposes - offset registries, carbon insetters, carbon capture incentive schemes, ecosystem services and environmental investment products - whether carbon capture will be monetised or not.

The Code will address all the ‘principles’ needed to ensure that the soil carbon market-place delivers for farmers, investors and the environment. This will reflect obligations for both the sequestered carbon, and the market-place in general.

Credible

Sequestered carbon must be scientifically measurable according to robust, high-integrity methodologies

Additional

Paid for activities must be over and above what would have occurred under business-as-usual conditions

Permanent

Regenerative practices must be maintained to ensure that any sequestered carbon is retained in the soil over an agreed period of time

Verifiable

The approach used, and the changes in carbon stocks claimed must be verified by a trusted, third party organization

Transparent

Rules need to be established to avoid double-counting - separate market players claiming the same carbon increase

Holistic

A UK Soil Carbon market-place must not lead to CO2 or GHG increases elsewhere or have a negative impact upon food production

Scalable

The market-place must be deliver carbon sequestration at sufficient scale to generate value for money and low overheads for farmers and investors

Fair

Projects should not reward historic or deliberate soil carbon loss or land managers who are not making adequate carbon reductions efforts elsewhere

The Code will be able to mesh with public sources of funding for climate mitigation on agricultural land or the new subsidy regimes, such as the 'Environmental Land Management Scheme' (ELMS), in England.

The Code will list practices with sufficient evidence base to support their implementation. As evidence accumulates, the Code will be updated to reflect our improved understanding of ‘what works’.

The Code will adhere to ICROAs code of practice where possible. Ownership for publishing, maintenance, development, governance and promotion of the Code will be clear and transparent.

Get Involved

The SSA is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee. We decided not to set up a charity because that would limit some activities such as campaigning on government policies. With a not-for-profit company the directors don’t benefit from profits and money raised is spent on company aims.

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