Embracing the Future: Soil's Appealing Role as a Pivotal Climate Solution
Drought is anticipated to impact around 75% of the global population by 2050. Ponder on that.
Now, drylands encompass about half of the Earth's landmass, excluding Antarctica, and annually, droughts, driven by environmental degradation, expense the world over $300 billion. This was revealed by the UN recently.
Across the globe, fertile land is gradually losing its ability to support plants, animals, and people due to climate change causing temperature rise and industrial farming leading to soil erosion.
This isn't a joke. So why isn't it the leading news headline every night?
Because soil isn't appealing - and it all boils down to soil.
Soil serves as the backbone of all life on Earth. It's essential for our existence - without it, we wouldn't be able to eat. Soil is the largest living ecosystem; a single teaspoon contains more organisms than the global human population, and the more diverse it is, the higher the yield of our crops. Soil purifies and protects our water and averts natural disasters like floods.
It's also our largest carbon sink aside from the ocean. Trees often get the attention, but soil actually stores 3-4 times more carbon than trees.
This means the potential for soil to emit carbon is alarming. The way industrial farming operates leads to soil degradation and erosion due to heavy machinery and monocropping - growing the same crop year after year on the same land. This is not beneficial for the soil's health, as diversity is crucial for its survival.
Releasing merely 1% of Europe's soil carbon would be equal to the emissions from 1 billion cars, according to an analysis by the NGO, Save Soil.

If we continue to degrade our land at the current rate, not only will drought and food scarcity become more prevalent, but climate change will worsen by emitting even more carbon into the atmosphere, amplifying the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.
Everything is interconnected to soil. It's almost magical.
A global summit for soil enthusiasts
Last week, the UN's 'desertification COP', COP16, was held in Saudi Arabia, following the climate COP, COP29, in Azerbaijan the previous month.
Discussions focused on land, soil, farming, and food security, as well as the financial mechanisms necessary to mobilize funding in these areas.
Praveena Sridhar from Save Soil was present in Riyadh. She told me, “We are always seeking ways to make soil relatable.
“We are here for funding, but at the moment, COP16 discussions mainly revolve around semi-arid regions. It's not just the arid parts of the world that are at risk of desertification - it's Europe too. We must refrain from tilling the land and transition towards regenerative agriculture - the time is ripe for farmers to adapt.”
What is regenerative agriculture? In simple terms, it's a farming practice that focuses on enhancing the health of the soil, plants, animals, and environment. Instead of just maximizing food production, it aims to make the land healthier over time.

This means employing practices like planting trees alongside food crops (agroforestry), minimizing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, keeping the soil alive with year-round crops, creating habitats for pollinators like bees, and reducing tilling to preserve the soil structure.
Are farmers on board?
Many farmers feel neglected and criticized by top-down policies, with protests popping up throughout Europe in the past year. So, to encourage the regenerative shift, farmers must feel heard and valued for their contributions.
“Transitioning to regenerative agriculture and healthy soil is crucial for reducing the farming sector’s emissions and restoring nature - but making the leap is still a significant challenge for farmers. They face reduced yields during the initial three to five years and often bear the costs alone,” explains Willem Ferwerda from the Dutch landscape restoration NGO, Commonland.
“Alongside the financial risks, farmers also need training and access to a community of others embarking on the same journey.”
Willem mentions a farming cooperative in Spain, the AlVelAl Association, which offers precisely this type of training to farmers in the region. They have a shared machinery bank, for instance, allowing farmers to borrow - instead of buy - essential tools for regenerative practices such as no-tilling, green cover clearing, and applying organic matter to the land.
“The machinery bank is revolutionary for regenerative farming just as libraries once were for knowledge - if only it could become the norm,” adds Willem.
Benedikt Bösel, a farmer based in Germany, agrees, telling me the transition is “urgent if we want true food security in Europe - and to protect ourselves against droughts and floods.” He adds, “one of the reasons we are seeing an increase in climate shocks is because our soils are unhealthy.”

How can we shift the dial on a global scale? Is the fight against the industrial farming lobby the only solution?
“No, I don't want to resort to confrontation. Incentivization is much more powerful, and we can achieve that through policy intervention,” says Praveena.
“Consider insurance - when a farm is unhealthy, it should cost more to operate. If you are a regenerative farmer, you should receive additional subsidized aid and pay less.”
"Ain't expecting farmers to jump on board without understanding how it'll better their lives, you know? Take, for instance, the situation in Denmark with their methane tax law for cow farmers. The idea was to inspire holistic grazing, but they rushed it without any guidance or consultations with the farmers. Guess what? They weren't thrilled about it. And that's why farming has turned into such a contentious topic in politics," she explains.
During COP16 this year, negotiators missed out on a significant chance to funnel funds towards a more regenerative transformation. Sadly, the conference didn't end with a firm commitment to put an end to drought, a concern that experts have warned could have long-term consequences.
National governments have been allocating agriculture budgets even before the industrial revolution. So, according to Praveena, there's "nothing revolutionary" about providing farmers with the tools they need to farm more sustainably, thereby boosting their earnings.
Everything boils down to soil. You'd be surprised to know that one of the most overlooked climate solutions might just be underneath our feet.
Regenerative farming, which focuses on enhancing soil health and employs practices like agroforestry and reduced tilling, could be a key solution to combat drought in semi-arid regions and even in Europe, as highlighted by Praveena Sridhar from Save Soil.
The potential for soil to store carbon is immense, and regenerative farming practices can help maintain soil health and prevent carbon emissions, as revealed in an analysis by Save Soil. This is crucial in the fight against climate change, which is causing soil degradation and erosion due to industrial farming methods.