4 PER 1000 INITIATIVE

France launched the international 4 per 1000 Initiative at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference to demonstrate that agriculture, especially agricultural soils, can sequester carbon effectively, thus showing the industry’s crucial role in food security and climate change. The initiative addresses six separate sectors (governments and local authorities, public and private funding bodies, research and training organizations, private companies, farmers and forests, and civil society associations and NGOs) and provides research and support for stakeholders to transition toward resilient agriculture by managing their lands and soils to increase the concentration of soil carbon stocks by 0.4% per year. Soil carbon stocks, located in the first 12 to 15 inches of soil, where the majority of soil life is located, can hold twice as much carbon as the atmosphere or vegetation alone. The 0.4% target is adjusted by the type of soil and climate of each potential project, with the 4 per 1000 Initiative suggesting 570 million farms in rural areas across the world could implement agricultural carbon sequestering by increasing the organic matter in soils, combating land degradation, participating in the goal of food security, and adapting agriculture to climate change. A variety of techniques, including agroecology, agroforestry, conservation agriculture, and land-based management are being tested by over 100 partner organizations across the globe. There has been backlash against the initiative by farmers and ecologists who say the target rates are unfeasible, put an undue economic burden on the farms implementing the measures, and are challenging anywhere other than actively managed agricultural land.

2015 - 2050