TERRASAFE is a pioneering initiative envisaging to empower local communities in southern Europe and northern Africa to successfully face the escalating challenges of desertification through the adoption of nature-based, social and technological innovations. TERRASAFE’s vision will be operationalized in 5 pilot areas that share a high vulnerability to desertification but, simultaneously, represent the 4 main types of desertification (vegetation decline, soil degradation, water scarcity, and depopulation) and strongly contrast in socio–cultural-ecological circumstances. This vision is supported by a transdisciplinary consortium, ranging from universities to SMEs commercially exploiting innovations. TERRASAFE’s vision is implemented through a multi-actor approach covering all WPs, in particular by setting up 5 partnerships in the 5 pilot areas. In a co-creation process, these partnerships will then (i) define their visions on building desertification resilience and plan their ensuing TERRASAFE work; (ii) map and analyze past and ongoing desertification, identifying hotspots; (iii) evaluate and demonstrate innovations at these hotspots, comparing them with current and traditional/organic practices; (iv) elaborate policy recommendation for the wider uptake of the TERRASAFE-certified innovations, both within and beyond the pilot areas, taking into account lessons learnt from past and ongoing policies against desertification; (v) share their TERRASAFE’s experience with the other areas, other desertification-prone communities and the general public. The consortium will support the partnerships by providing not only harmonized frameworks for each activity but also advice on adapting these frameworks to their specific needs. Finally, the SMEs will provide a wide offer of innovations that they will tailor towards the respective desertification hotspots, in close collaboration with the partnerships.

The rising concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, currently about 420 ppm, is already causing extensive damage globally. Thus, there´s an urgent need to deploy CO2 removal (CDR) at very large scale to help to keep the temperature rise under 2C° (1.5C° would be better). Until recently, apart from academic research into a wide portfolio of approaches, little has been done to launch the necessary exponential growth of CDR over the next few decades. The current self-regulated market relies on an unsatisfactory patchwork of third-party verification of the removals achieved at individual sites. The sector has been negatively influenced by a lack of regulation and high-quality standards. This has allowed low-quality carbon credits to enter the market, lowering credibility and prices to levels at which high-quality permanent removals cannot compete. The Member States need the EC to intervene to kick-start a transparent and properly regulated market for high-grade CDR delivery. The purpose of the C-SINK project is to deliver to the EC a complete package of worked-up proposals to support a new or amended European legal/regulatory framework to bring high quality CDRs into the market. That package will contain pre-standards (in CEN format) covering requirements and methodologies for sampling, testing and QMS (ISO9000) upon which to build monitoring, reporting and verification systems. It will also include proposals to cover (a) environmental, social-impact and governance issues, and (b) the means of building trust in the market. This will encourage entrepreneurs to demonstrate effective and safe CDR projects and to make large investments, thus allowing the market to evolve to tackle the climate crisis. The C-SINK consortium includes organizations from 11 countries with complementary skills and expertise in the different CDR technologies, the writing of CEN and ISO standards, climate law, carbon trading, and in all of the relevant environmental and social issues.