Climate Friendly Food

Say No to Soil Carbon Markets - Action Aid Campaign

Action Aid's stance against making soil carbon a traded commodity is needed. CFF believes arable land must produce healthy food with high calorific output per acre, e.g. market gardening. Carbon markets = peverse incentives to not grow as much food - a climate change nightmare. Ultimately this would mean the West's consumptive appetite would be pushed onto global prisitne habitats taken for agriculture thus exacerbating climate change. Also, as has been seen in UK settings, soil carbon levels fluctuate so much and there are massive uncertainties with permanance.

Action Aid spell out the six reasons why soil carbon markets do not work for smallholders

1) The science doesn’t measure up

2) Agribusiness and big farmers benefit

3) More land grabs

4) Reduced adaptive capacity

5) Public money, private gain

6) Funding distraction (burden on poor communities)

For more info visit http://www.actionaid.org/publications/say-no-soil-carbon-markets-six-reasons-why-soil-carbon-markets-won%E2%80%99t-work-smallholders