Farm Carbon Cutting Toolkit, Cool Farm Alliance Community Interest Company, and Agrecalc Ltd sign MOU to align methodologies for calculating agriculture’s emissions in the UK, aiming to provide more accurate and consistent tools for measuring greenhouse gas emissions.
Farm Carbon Calculators Collaborate to Harmonise Emission Measurement Methodologies
Farm Carbon Cutting Toolkit, Cool Farm Alliance Community Interest Company, and Agrecalc Ltd have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to align methodologies for calculating agriculture’s emissions in the UK. Through this collaboration, the three major farm carbon calculators aim to support farmers by providing more accurate and consistent tools for measuring greenhouse gas emissions.
The initiative responds to 2023 Defra research that identified significant discrepancies in results among six farm carbon calculators. These findings revealed that emissions varied widely across farms, with poultry farms showing discrepancies where the highest outputs were more than 350% of the lowest.
Liz Bowles, CEO of Farm Carbon Toolkit, emphasized that the goal is not to produce identical results across the calculators but to ensure users understand the reasons behind different figures. The coalition aims to align with the Science-Based Targets initiative Forestry Land and Agriculture Guidance (SBTi FLAG) and the draft Greenhouse Gas Protocol Land Sector Removals Guidance (GHGp LSRG).
The companies will engage in consultations with Defra and devolved governments to validate their harmonisation efforts. Scott Davies, CEO of Agrecalc, noted that the calculators would agree on a common set of data sources, maintaining their commercial independence while involving relevant governmental and organizational teams.
Open to additional collaborators, the coalition requires transparency in calculator methodologies from any new members. A webinar on September 11th will discuss the progress and future plans of this joint effort.
