Enhancing carbon sequestration while maintaining and improving the soil ecosystem services of agricultural soils, including managed peatland, is an important lever for mitigating climate change in the Land-Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry sector. This can be achieved through the application of a mix of agricultural practices that may reward farmers in a green business model, often referred to as carbon farming (CF). To ensure the credibility of CF and acceptance among farmers, investors, and policymakers, there is a need to design CF schemes that enable the effective implementation of such practices across Europe. The objective of this study is to explore the design of existing CF schemes in relation to quantifying carbon removal, ensuring additionality, long-term storage, and sustainability. Further, to discuss the implications for the design and implementation of CF schemes in Europe, including the basis and potential for developing results-based CF schemes. Our analysis is based on an inventory of 160 CF schemes implemented across Europe, and an in-depth assessment of 40 of them.