A new report released at COP30, in Belém, warns that soil is being neglected as an essential climate mitigation tool, despite storing much more carbon than previously estimated.
The world is neglecting soil as a fundamental instrument in climate action, warns a new report released on COP30 Agriculture Day, in Belém, on November 19th. The document states that the surface meter of soil stores around 45% more carbon than previous estimates indicated. However, this resource is rapidly degrading, increasing the risk of significant greenhouse gas emissions.
The top meter of soil can store around 45% more carbon than previously thought, but it is degrading so quickly that it risks releasing thousands of gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to a report presented on COP30 Agriculture Day.
The report is based on UN data that shows that around 40% of the planet’s land is degraded, a percentage that could reach 90% by 2050 if measures are not adopted. The document reinforces concerns already expressed by several UN agencies about desertification and inadequate land management.
“A hidden crisis”
“People don’t understand that everything in society is based on soil. Soil is absolutely essential to the production of our food. We feed 8.2 billion people. We feed all our animals, we feed everything from these soils,” Mark Maslin, professor of Earth System Science at University College London, told Reuters.
Maslin, who was not involved in the report, highlighted that “soils are being degraded” due to excessive use, namely the intensive application of pesticides and fertilizers.
“They’re getting worse and worse. They’re becoming less fertile. But it’s a hidden crisis because we rarely think about the soil”, he stated.
Risk of massive carbon emissions
According to the report, prepared by think tank Aroura Soil Security, the IUCN World Environmental Law Commission and the Save Soil campaign, around 2,822 gigatons of carbon dioxide are at risk of being released from the first meter of global soil.
“If we don’t take care of soil sustainably, it can emit 4 billion gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. So soil can be part of the solution or part of the problem. We have the option to support it to become part of the solution,” said Praveena Sridhar, Scientific and Technological Director at Save Soil.
The report estimates that restoring soil health could reduce around 27% of global emissions, an essential contribution to keeping global warming below 2°C, in line with academic studies and United Nations assessments on nature-based climate solutions.
However, the document finds that around 70% of countries do not include soil restoration in their climate commitments.
I needglobal legal instruments to protect soils
The authors argue that, contrary to what happens with the oceans or the atmosphere, the soil continues without any instrument.specific international fluid that protects you. Call on governments to support legislation dedicated to soil safety, includingthe proposed European Union Soil Monitoring Law and a pan-African model law for sustainable soil management.
The Land Security Framework presented in the report articulates science, economics and law. It argues that regenerative agriculture and soil-focused land use policies can simultaneously strengthen food and water security while sequestering billions of tons of carbon.
