# Low-Carbon Certification Systems in Agriculture: A Review
## 3 Existing Low-Carbon Certification Systems
### Non-EU Countries  
So far, very few initiatives have been taken in non-EU countries for the development of low-carbon certification schemes in agriculture. Such a system, based on the Framework Act on Low Carbon, Green Growth, was launched in 2014 by the Republic of Korea (ROK) [63], aiming to achieve the GHG reduction target in the agricultural sector. The ROK has introduced the Low-Carbon Agricultural and Livestock Product Certification System to gain various benefits, such as generating new income for farmers and enhancing their competitiveness by introducing low-carbon farming techniques. This system refers to a national certification approach applied to a limited number of agricultural products, i.e., 51 categories, such as food crops, vegetables, fruits, and special crops, when their life cycle carbon emissions are lower compared to the national average emissions of the same product types. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of the ROK officially introduced this system in 2015, and until 2019, 830 agricultural products were certified as low-carbon ones [64]. According to the Foundation of Agricultural Technology, Commercialization and Transfer (FACT), which is a certification body, as of December 2020, 4700 farms (706 cases) and 5657 hectares obtained certification. In March 2022, FACT was rebranded as the Korea Agricultural Technology Promotion Agency (KOAT) to enhance the economic impact of agricultural R&D and promote industrial advancement [65]. Based on this system, low-carbon certification can only be applied to farms that have received the existing eco-friendly (organic, pesticide-free) or Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification [66]. These practices use the following:  
* Technology to reduce consumption of fertilizer and pesticides, such as circulation farming, green manure cultivation, and eco-friendly control. * Energy-saving technologies for agricultural machinery, such as direct planting and no tillage. * Heating energy-saving technologies such as multi-layer insulation curtains, water curtain cultivation, geothermal heat pumps, etc. The key is to reduce carbon emissions by using agricultural water management technology. Low-carbon certified agricultural products can be purchased through premium distribution networks such as department stores, large marts, and eco-friendly stores. As the public's awareness of the environment increases, the impact of the low-carbon certification mark on consumers' purchase of agri-food is expected to grow fast. Farmers are hoping for more drastic marketing and support for expanding sales channels to boost consumption of certified agricultural products. However, recent data indicate that the number of certified farms in Korea is small, and this reveals that the low-carbon certification system is still in the initial stage, achieving a very small annual reduction of almost 70,000 metric tons of CO2 eq, far away from the 2030 target that aims to reduce GHG emissions in agriculture, forestry, and livestock industries by 7.9% (about 1.9 million metric tons of CO2 eq) compared to 2012 values [64]. Another initiative was taken very recently, in 2022, in the United States, where the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program [67]. Its main objective is to expand markets, leverage GHG emissions reduction for climate-smart commodities, and position American producers as global leaders in climate-smart agricultural production. The anticipated benefits of the selected projects are as follows:
* Provide technical and financial assistance to producers to implement climate-smart production practices on a voluntary basis on working lands. * Pilot innovative and cost-effective methods for quantification, monitoring, reporting, and verification of GHG benefits. * Develop markets and promote the resulting climate-smart commodities. However, it is still too early to assess the efficiency of these partnerships and the degree to which they will meet the targets set.