ClieNFarms final knowledge exchange webinar: Towards climate neutrality in European farming
On December 11, 2025, the final ClieNFarms knowledge exchange webinar brought together researchers and agrifood actors from 12 EU projects and networks to reflect on four years of work supporting the transition towards climate-neutral and climate-resilient farming across Europe. Including presentations from projects ZeroW and TITAN, the event offered exchanges on practical tools, field experience and policy insights aligned with the objectives of the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy.
Turning climate ambition into farm-level action
European agriculture plays a critical role in meeting the EU’s climate targets, including a 55% reduction in net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050. ClieNFarms addressed this challenge by working directly with farmers to co-develop and test locally relevant solutions that reduce emissions while remaining economically viable.
Across 20 Innovative Systemic Solution Spaces (I3S) in 14 countries, the project connected demonstration farms, commercial farms, and wider farming networks. This approach embedded climate action in real production systems and fostered collaboration across the agrifood value chain.
Evidence-based climate solutions for diverse farms
A central outcome of ClieNFarms is the Catalogue of Climate Solutions, which supports farmers and advisors in selecting practices tailored to their specific context. The catalogue brings together climate mitigation and carbon sequestration solutions for livestock and arable systems, as well as olive and wine production.
The catalogue recognises that farm size, climate and production system strongly influence outcomes, reinforcing the need for farm-specific pathways rather than one-size-fits-all approaches. The ClieNFarms micro-learning modules can further support knowledge uptake at farm level.
Co-creation and peer learning drive change
ClieNFarms placed strong emphasis on farmer engagement and co-creation. Through participatory “Creative Arenas”, farmers worked alongside advisors, researchers, processors and policymakers to identify feasible climate actions and the support required to implement them.
This process resulted in 149 farm-level climate action plans, implemented across the project’s farm networks. Farmers highlighted economic performance, social recognition, climate adaptation, and access to incentives as key motivations for adopting low-carbon practices. Peer-to-peer learning – through farm walks and demonstration events – proved especially effective, building trust and confidence in new approaches.
Scaling climate action beyond individual farms
The webinar also addressed the challenge of scaling climate-neutral farming. ClieNFarms explored how action can be scaled within supply chains, across regions and through deeper system transformation. Tools developed by the project (such as the ClieNFarms scaling toolbox) can support policymakers, companies and investors in identifying effective levers for transition.
Participating agrifood companies (Nestlé, Danone, FrieslandCampina, and Nutrifarms) underlined the importance of appropriate business models to support farmer engagement, including long-term contracts, cooperative structures and risk-sharing mechanisms. Financial incentives and de-risking instruments were identified as essential to ensure farmers can invest in climate solutions without undermining their economic viability.
Data, modelling and policy alignment
Reliable data and modelling are crucial for assessing progress towards climate neutrality. ClieNFarms combined farm audits, soil sampling and multiple modelling tools to estimate emissions, carbon sequestration and wider sustainability impacts. Acknowledging the challenges related to this work, which requires important resources, the project developed guidelines for model use and contributed evidence to EU-level policy discussions on carbon farming, especially as part of the Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming (CRCF) regulation.
What’s next? From innovation on farms to food system transformation
As ClieNFarms concludes, one message is clear: climate-neutral farming cannot be achieved in isolation. While on-farm mitigation and carbon sequestration are essential, the ambitions of the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy require a whole food system transformation, from primary production to processing, distribution, consumption and food waste reduction.
ClieNFarms shows that farmers are ready to act – but they need to be supported by coherent policies, aligned market incentives, robust data frameworks and shared responsibility across the value chain. Action must therefore move towards systemic transformation approaches.
ClieNFarms is part of a wider Green Deal ecosystem working towards this goal. Projects such as SchoolFood4Change (sustainable food procurement), SISTERS (short food supply chains), TITAN (digital traceability and carbon certification), ENOUGH (emissions reduction in food processing) and ZeroW (food loss and waste prevention) highlight complementary pathways for system-wide change.
ClieNFarms demonstrates that the farming sector can reduce its climate impact and become more resilient, provided it is supported by coordinated action from farm to fork. The challenge now is to scale, connect and sustain these innovations so that the ambitions of the European Green Deal translate into lasting change on farms, in supply chains and on citizens’ plates.
As the project ends, the ClieNFarms team remains committed to collaboration and systems transformation – connect with us to keep building on this momentum!