Hemp for Carbon Sequestration
Hemp has been used by humans for millennia for everything from rope to medicine, but now this versatile plant is being used to fight climate change with its remarkable ability to sequester carbon.
Grant Brown, Founder, Happy Eco News
Whether you’re a farmer, a business owner, or just someone concerned about the environment, hemp carbon sequestration may be one of the best ways to help protect our planet’s climate. Hemp has become one of the fastest and most efficient ways to transform CO2 into biomass and can be used to make low-carbon construction materials such as lumber, paper, and clothing. It can also be used to make biofuels and bioplastics.
Growing hemp is a regenerative agricultural practice that can help restore soil carbon and the nutrient cycle. The hemp used in paper products also reduces the intensive use of trees, which are better left alive to provide long-term carbon storage.
One hectare of industrial hemp will sequester up to 8 to 15 metric tons of CO2 annually and grows in a 120-day crop cycle, which means that hemp carbon sequestration occurs quickly; it can be processed within four to five months.
Hemp carbon sequestration is part of a new European Innovation Partnership project. It will help improve soil health and reduce carbon emissions by growing hemp on the Loop Head Peninsula in Ireland. The project is the first of its kind in Europe and promises to provide economic growth in agriculture and the development of new products and industries as well as help sequester carbon.
