ESTIMATION OF THE CARBON CREDIT INCOME FROM SHELTERBELT PLANTATIONS

BOROVICS ATTILA –ÁBRI TAMÁS – BENKE ATTILA – KIRÁLY ÉVA – KOVÁCS ZOLTÁN – SCHIBERNA ENDRE – KESERŰ Z

Keywords: Keywords: climate change mitigation, carbon pricing, carbon market, agroforestry, carbon sequestration JEL codes: Q01, Q23, Q54

Teljes cikk
vThe land-use sector plays a vital role in climate change mitigation efforts, leveraging ecosystems’ carbon sequestration for both emission reductions and carbon farming. Under the EU Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) regulation, farmers and foresters can earn income on the voluntary carbon market by selling carbon captured in the biomass and soil of newly established shelterbelt plantations. This study estimates the carbon sequestration potential of planned shelterbelts at four sites up to 2050 and evaluates the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated from the planting and the maintenance of the afforestation. Findings reveal that machinery-related GHG emissions are negligible (0.6–0.8 per cent) compared to the amount of carbon sequestered in the biomass and the soil. Shelterbelt establishment, supported by CAP funding, is thus a profitable investment, further enhanced by additional revenues from the carbon market regulated by the CRCF. DOI: https://doi.org/10.53079/GAZDALKODAS.69.2.t.pp_119-143