Policy on Integrating Soil Health into Climate and Carbon Market Frameworks: A Pathway to Resilient Food Systems and Verified Carbon Drawdown

Abstract

The climate crisis necessitates urgent and multifaceted strategies for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While energy transition dominates discourse, the terrestrial biosphere, and agricultural soils in particular, represent a critical and underutilised sink for atmospheric carbon. The study aims to explore how integrating soil health practices into climate and carbon market frameworks can enhance food system resilience while ensuring verified carbon sequestration. This policy paper argues for the systematic integration of soil health principles into national climate policies and international carbon market frameworks. We detail the scientific rationale behind soil carbon sequestration, highlighting its co-benefits for agricultural resilience, water security, and biodiversity. The paper examines the current challenges within voluntary carbon markets (VCMs), including issues related to measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification (MMRV), permanence, leakage, and additionality. We present a suite of policy recommendations aimed at governments, standard-setting bodies, and private market participants to overcome these barriers. By adopting a "soil-health-first" approach that values ecosystem services beyond carbon, we can unlock a powerful, natural climate solution that supports both planetary health and agricultural livelihoods. Data from key studies accentuate the significant potential, estimating global soil carbon sequestration capacity at 2-5 Gt CO₂e per year. Soil health is not a silver bullet for the climate crisis, but it is a foundational element of any successful strategy to achieve a net-zero future. By adopting the recommendations outlined in this paper, stakeholders can unlock the immense potential of the earth beneath our feet to help stabilise the atmosphere above it. The time to invest in soil health is now.