Italian and Croatian olive growers test new carbon credit project

A three-year-long European Union-funded project has shown that olive, fruit and vine growers can efficiently contribute to developing a carbon credit market focused on agriculture, creating new opportunities for farmers and producing beneficial effects for the environment. The experimental market set up by the Green Economy and CO2 project (GECO2) allowed the agricultural partners to measure their carbon sequestering capabilities and sell carbon credit. On the other side of the spectrum, GECO2 buyers in the food sector were allowed to offset portions of their greenhouse gas emissions by buying those credits. Coordinated by Italian and Croatian officials, hundreds of farmers and entrepreneurs on both banks of the Adriatic Sea participated in the scheme, which encouraged the adoption of many farming best practices. “Thanks to the best practices in managing their territory and the biomass, farmers who participated in the project have learned that a virtuous approach can lead to ...