Regenerative and Conservation Agriculture as Climate Solutions: Evidence for Soil Carbon Gains and Emission Reductions

Abstract

Regenerative and conservation agriculture are widely promoted as “climate-smart” strategies that can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while sustaining food production. However, expectations for agricultural soils as a major negative-emission technology remain contested. The central issue is whether these practices can reliably increase soil organic carbon (SOC), reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, and support farm livelihoods. This review synthesizes emerging evidence on the impacts of regenerative and conservation agriculture on SOC stocks, GHG balances, and farmer livelihoods. It clarifies definitions and conceptual overlaps between the two approaches, linking them to contemporary understanding of SOC dynamics and carbon accounting. The analysis draws on recent global meta-analyses and long-term experiments to evaluate practices such as reduced tillage, cover crops, diversified rotations, organic amendments, agroforestry, and improved grazing systems. These practices typically raise SOC in surface soils and can improve yields and resilience, but the size of the effect varies strongly with climate, soil type, baseline management and time horizon. Evidence on net GHG outcomes is more mixed: while practices such as reduced tillage and cover cr ops often lower CO₂ emissions from fuel use and erosion, their effects on nitrous oxide (N₂O) are highly variable, and increases in N₂O can offset part of the climate benefit from SOC accrual. We discuss how these biophysical outcomes intersect with farmer incentives, equity considerations and the integrity of rapidly expanding soil carbon credit schemes. Finally, we identify key research and policy priorities for aligning regenerative and conservation agriculture with robust climate mitigation, including improved monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV), better integration of yield and risk metrics, and governance frameworks that prioritise “carbon for soils, not soils for carbon.