Human-related activities are impacting the Earth at a large scale, and the global mean surface temperature increased by 1.1oC above pre-industrial levels between 2011 and 2020. The increase in greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere results in climate change. One large emitting sector is agriculture. However, agriculture has the potential to significantly contribute to the sustainability transition by implementing farming practices where carbon is stored in the soil – referring to carbon farming. Climate change is also affecting the soil negatively and has been a driver for desertification and increased droughts. Carbon farming can play a role in both preventing and combating desertification.
Liquid Natural Clay (LNC) is the case for the research and is a niche innovation developed by the Norwegian Agri-tech company Desert Control AS. The technology enriches the fertility capability in sandy soils and degraded lands. Sandy soils contain low soil organic matter, meaning the degree of soil organic carbon is low. Plant growth will increase the amount of soil organic matter and soil organic carbon. Therefore, LNC can be seen as a carbon farming technology.
The research explores barriers to the development of carbon farming technologies in Europe and how these barriers can be adapted to the research case, LNC. The research primarily focuses on European Union (EU) policies at the intersection of climate action, agriculture, and technology development, and whether the EU policies are suitable to overcome the identified barriers.
The data for the research have been collected by conducting a document analysis, a literature review, seven semi-structured interviews, and attending two conferences. The data collection identified ten barriers, eight of which were addressed by the abovementioned policies. Moreover, it was found that most of the barriers were relevant to the development of the research case, the niche innovation LNC, to varying degrees.
The research concludes that the policies are suitable to overcome the barriers to a certain extent. Climate action, sustainable agriculture, carbon farming, technology development, and desertification are receiving more political focus now than ever before. The EU allocates large amounts of money to sustainable innovation, research, and development. In contrast, most policies do not explicitly explain how to overcome the barriers, even though the barriers are addressed in the policies. Although, the increased awareness of the barriers is a start. The abovementioned policies are either communications, strategies, or initiatives. None are legally binding, even though some policy targets are legally binding. However, stimulating positive, voluntary engagement can be equally efficient to increase awareness and facilitate further development
