Beyond carbon sequestration: Swedish farmers' preferences and trade-offs between co-benefits of climate change mitigation measures

Summary

The mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions is a central policy concern in agriculture, reflected through voluntary contractual measures in the Common Agricultural Policy. The literature suggests that farmers' motivation for participating in mitigation measures does not necessarily originate in climate consciousness nor a sense of responsibility for mitigation, but rather in the co-benefits that they can bring. This paper investigates farmers' preferences for climate-related and non-climate co-benefits of mitigation measures, specifically carbon sequestration, biodiversity and soil health, using the cover cropping eco-scheme as a case study. We elicit trade-offs between monetary and non-monetary utility values associated with the co-benefits, alongside farmers' attitudes and identities, usi