From GHG Observations to Actionable Climate Information Services

Effective climate mitigation requires obtaining greenhouse gas (GHG) information and accounting that is scientifically robust and actionable for decision-making. The CARBONICA project has developed and implemented a robust climate-positive action plan for carbon farming implementation across the widening countries of Greece, Cyprus and North Macedonia, generating climate information services that operate at regional, national, and international scales. An extended management practices inventory has been developed and implemented in pilot sites across 15 crops between the 3 countries, fully aligned with the IPCC, the Natural Climate Solutions World Atlas, the GHG Protocol, and climate related EU laws and initiatives. GHG accounting is supported by a robust MRV system combining soil sampling, field inputs following IPCC Scope guidance, and management practices, covering direct, indirect, and upstream emissions across the farm system, with all procedures are fully compliant with ISO 14064-2. Farm-level data are also collected using the validated Field Diagnostic Toolbox, which includes soil CO₂ flux monitoring using spectroscopy to support accurate assessment of emissions and carbon removals.

This enables explicit attribution of emissions and carbon removals to farms, regions, and in general, the agrifood sector, supporting monitoring, reporting and validating of mitigation measures for positive climate action. LCA modelling on a pilot site (1ha peach orchard) has shown significant results in emissions reductions and carbon removals. The model was used once on the baseline (business-as-usual scenario) in 2024, and once after the management practices no- till and residues incorporation were implemented in the orchard, for the year 2025. The total greenhouse gas emissions from the pilot peach orchard decreased from 2,660 kg CO₂e in 2024 to 1,280 kg CO₂e in 2025, with emissions per ton of produced fruit dropping from 147.63 kg CO₂e to 71.04 kg CO₂e. Beyond the reduction of the emission sources, the demonstrated change in the soil carbon stock was also significant. While the 2024 cultivation season showed a net-zero change compared to the baseline scenario, the implementation of no-till and crop residue incorporation during the 2025 season created an active carbon sink, resulting in a net removal of 597.76 kg of CO₂e from the atmosphere into the soil. Thus, the project successfully demonstrated a twofold climate benefit: a major reduction in operation emissions and a significant sequestration of atmospheric carbon into the soil.

The results presented above are part of a third-party validated carbon farming project, facilitated through CARBONICA. This work also contributes to IG3IS-aligned applications demonstrating the operational use of multi-source GHG observations for real-world solutions in carbon farming.