Farmers’ acceptance of carbon offset programs in agriculture

The EU27 plus UK has long relied on carbon markets as key instruments for achieving a reduction in global GHGs emissions. The agricultural sector is, however, not covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). Internationally, there are very few examples of policies pricing agricultural emissions. Yet, increasing the carbon efficiency of the agricultural sector is a necessary step that countries should take to meet the climate targets of the Paris Agreement. After discussing the role of agriculture in supporting the achievement of climate change mitigation objectives, we provide an overview of market-based instruments that could incentivize farmers to mitigate GHGs emissions in developed countries. We further propose the design of a survey that could be used to elicit farmers’ acceptability of carbon offset programs under conditions of risk and uncertainty regarding the future price of carbon credits and the efficiency of new technologies. Results from a pilot with students in agricultural and environmental science students are presented.