The Spanish region of Murcia has launched a new brand, dubbed ‘Less CO2’, which is poised to be the first standard in Europe that highlights products that absorb rather than create carbon dioxide.
According to its backers, the brand will highlight to key export markets the ability of Murcia’s estimated 117,000ha of fruit and vegetable production to act as a “CO2 drain”, which absorbs more than 1m tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.
The regional government of Murcia announced the launch of the pioneering initiative, alongside local fresh produce associations Apoexpa, Proexport and Amopa, at last week’s Fruit Logistica 2010 trade fair in Berlin, Germany.
Murcia’s regional president, Ramón Luis Valcárcel, said that the ‘Less CO2’ label “should be an instrument” for the region’s horticultural companies to “highlight their excellence and firm promise to the environment and consumers”.
Mr Valcárcel said ‘Murcian agriculture as a CO2 drain’ was an “innovative initiative” that would signify “greater quality, a greater commitment and more respect for the environment in the fight against global warming”.
According to a study carried out by Murcia’s Climate Change Observatory, each cubic metre of irrigated land in the Spanish region removes, on average, 3.6 kilos of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – a figure that is reduced to 2 kilos by the time the products reach supermarket shelves.
The regional government said the results obtained by the research found that the 117,000ha under production in Murcia absorbed the annual equivalent of the emissions produced by half a million people.
Mr Valcárcel said the development of the initiative was focused on complying with Spain’s commitment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, while striving to meet consumer demand for “new, unique and different” products.
