EU-Wide Advantages and Opportunities for the Grant “Monitoring, reporting, verification and mitigation of non-CO₂ greenhouse gas emissions and related air pollutants from agriculture” (HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-CLIMATE-04)

1. Single Market Access – Leveraging the EU’s 450 + million Consumers

- Harmonised agricultural product rules (e.g. marketing standards, organic regulation) allow rapid roll-out of MRV-enabled low-GHG products or premium “climate-smart” labels across all 27 Member States.

- Pan-EU demonstration farms give technology providers instant reference clients in every major agro-climatic zone, shortening time-to-market and boosting uptake of sensors, feed additives or fertiliser inhibitors.

- Farmers adopting certified mitigation actions gain access to future EU-wide CO₂ removal / carbon farming credits under the upcoming CRCF, creating additional revenue streams irrespective of national schemes.

2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

- Consortiums can blend Northern expertise on precision livestock with Mediterranean know-how on manure management under heat stress, generating more robust, transfer-able solutions.

- Mandatory cooperation task with other Horizon Europe projects (Soil Deal, Farm2Fork) enables shared field sites, common data standards and reduces duplication of trials.

- Alignment with EU-China FAB flagship opens gateways to 1.4 bn-consumer market while reinforcing Europe’s global leadership in sustainable agtech.

3. EU Policy Alignment – Direct Contribution to Flagship Strategies

- European Green Deal & Fit-for-55: delivers concrete emission cuts in the Effort Sharing & LULUCF sectors.

- Methane Strategy: generates on-farm mitigation packages feeding into upcoming EU CH₄ regulation.

- Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2028+: MRV tools can be embedded in eco-schemes and conditionality, ensuring mainstream deployment.

- Digital Europe & Data Spaces: on-farm GHG datasets can plug into the forthcoming Agriculture Data Space, creating new agri-environmental services.

4. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits

- A single set of Tier 3/4 emission factors and harmonised life-cycle metrics reduces reporting complexity for multinational agri-food companies.

- Alignment with EU MRV requirements positions technologies for smooth acceptance in national inventory systems and the UNFCCC.

- Pan-EU certification (CRCF) avoids 27 parallel verification systems, lowering transaction costs for farmers and investors.

5. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem

- Synergies with EIT Food, European Innovation Council, and more than 3 000 Digital Innovation Hubs provide acceleration, testing labs and venture funding.

- Close collaboration possibilities with JRC modelling teams, Copernicus Atmosphere & Land services, and the future Destination Earth Digital Twins for high-resolution emission mapping.

- Integration with European Partnerships (Agroecology, Agriculture of Data) ensures continuity until at least 2030.

6. Funding Synergies & Leverage Potential

- Blending with CAP Horizon Innovation Packages (I3 Instrument) for regional pilots up to TRL 8-9.

- LIFE programme can co-finance large-scale deployment of best-practice MRV & mitigation measures.

- European Investment Bank agriculture windows can scale proven solutions, supported by Horizon-generated evidence.

7. Scale, Replicability & Long-Term Impact

- Coverage of multiple pedo-climatic zones (Atlantic, Continental, Mediterranean, Boreal) facilitates EU-wide generalisation of emission factors.

- Organic farming inclusion provides 15 % of EU utilised agricultural area with tailored, low-input mitigation options.

- Standardised datasets feed directly into EU-level models (GLOBIOM-EU, CAPRI), improving policy design well beyond project life.

- Supports achievement of the legally binding 2040 EU climate target and the 2050 climate-neutrality goal by tackling the 11 % agricultural emissions slice.

8. Strategic Value of Operating at EU Scale

1. Critical mass: >10 M livestock farms give statistically robust validation of MRV tools.

2. Resource pooling: shared experimental infrastructures (ICOS, AnaEE) reduce individual Member State costs.

3. Political visibility: results can directly inform EU secondary legislation (implementing acts for CRCF, CAP delegated acts), offering higher impact than national pilots.

4. Market confidence: EU-approved methodologies act as international reference, unlocking private investment in climate-smart agriculture worldwide.

---

Key Take-Away: Competing nationally would limit trial diversity, policy influence and market reach. By exploiting the EU’s single market, common regulatory space and unrivalled research networks, applicants can develop, validate and deploy high-accuracy MRV systems and cost-effective mitigation practices that are immediately scalable across 4 million km² of farmland—maximising both climate impact and commercial opportunity.