EIT Climate-KIC’s case studies on innovative land use set the stage for transforming whole systems

EIT Climate-KIC launches ‘Innovations in land use,’ a collection of case studies demonstrating the organisation’s innovation-led, systemic approach that’s poised to help Europe deliver on its Green Deal goals, and especially those of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. These land-focused innovation projects have generated essential learnings, which have significantly contributed to the design of three of EIT Climate-KIC’s system change programmes or ‘Deep Demonstrations.‘

Agriculture, forestry and other land use represents a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). The European Commission’s goal is for Europe to be the first climate neutral continent by 2050, as stipulated in the European Green Deal. Efforts to achieve this goal must therefore include significant transformations in forestry and agriculture, in our diets, and in our approach to food waste.  

These systemic transformations cannot be achieved through isolated innovations. EIT Climate-KIC assembles innovations that work together—across education, technology, governance, finance, policy, citizen engagement and more—to transform entire systems.

‘Innovations in land use’ highlights a small portion of EIT Climate-KIC’s land-focused innovations, which usher in its large-scale programmes for systemic change, so-called Deep Demonstrations. Using lessons learned from these endeavours, EIT Climate-KIC aims to: 

• Transform landscapes into carbon sinks 
• Create resilient food systems and diets
• Improve the climate resilience of entire regions 

‘Innovations in land use’ features six case studies, spanning topics such as climate finance, just transition, vegetal protein alternatives, climate-smart agriculture, biomass and environmental footprint analysis.  

Only one to three per cent of investments go towards land-based projects and solutions. The Landscape Finance Lab is an online platform created to attract large amounts of green capital for sustainable land initiatives. It helps stakeholders package together separate land initiatives into larger products, structuring and launching projects with wider impacts. Sustained, large-scale financing with shared risk levels generates projects that are more attractive to investment banks. The Lab is working in 17 countries transforming 23 landscapes. Six of these projects bring in over $100 million in investment each. 

Agricultural supply chains are critical when it comes to tackling climate change, as this often accounts for large proportions of a producer’s GHGs. Unfortunately, it is difficult to obtain accurate, real-time data on the carbon footprint of crops locally. geoFootprint is a tool combining geospatial data with environmental footprint analyses of crops based on remote sensing data. geoFootprint will empower companies in crop-based industries with far more granular supply chain data so they can make better environmental management decisions and accelerate their transition towards sustainable agriculture. 

Read ‘Innovations in land use’ to learn more about these and the four other projects featured:

READ THE CASE STUDIES