Pilot for carbon sequestration in the Nordics
The pilot programme for 2021-22 brings together researchers, farmers, the food industry and other relevant stakeholders around the goal to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into Swedish arable lands. Svensk Kolinlagring is developing a framework for carbon sequestration that is adapted for the Nordic countries – with a focus on enabling, empowering and facilitating the transition to regenerative farming principles.
“We aim to develop the platform into an independent, not-for-profit, member-owned organisation that not only provides a market-based solution but creates a larger community with knowledge-sharing regarding carbon sequestration and the societal impact that the measures generate,” says Brodin.
Lindéngruppen’s farm involved in the pilot
Pilskytten, which is Lindéngruppen’s farm near Helsingborg in southern Sweden, is also an active member of the Svensk Kolinlagring pilot. This involves testing carbon sequestering actions in practice, and exploring the practices and results together with Svensk Kolinlagring.
“During 2021, we are testing three different methods of regenerative cultivation to sequester carbon on 70 hectares, and we intend to increase this to 200 hectares during the year,” says Henrik Ebbesson, Pilskytten Farm Manager. “This generally involves mimicking nature by keeping the soil covered all year round and disturbing the soil as little as possible to keep carbon in the soil and reduce vehicle emissions.”
The important role of agriculture in a low carbon world
We cannot keep the average global temperature increase below 1.5°C by only reducing our emissions – we must also capture, or sequester, carbon dioxide. Besides planting trees, an effective way of doing this is sequestering carbon dioxide in soil through regenerative agricultural practices.
The Svensk Kolinlagring platform is driving the development of systems to do just this – to sequester carbon dioxide and store it in Swedish agricultural land, which also improves the long-term productivity and resilience of Swedish agriculture.
“Lindéngruppen’s purpose is to empower its companies to lead the transformation to a sustainable world and therefore, we are committed to the possibilities of regenerative agriculture,” says Jenny Johansson, Chief Communication and Sustainability Officer at Lindéngruppen.