January 18, 2024 at 00:03
The European Union must phase out all fossil subsidies as quickly as possible, but it must also stop state aid to livestock farming. This was stated by the EU Climate Science Council in a report to be published on Thursday.
In the 366-page report, the Science Council investigates which EU policies are still in conflict with the intention to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. This goal is unattainable with subsidies for fossil fuels and intensive farming, it is the message from the consultants.
Agriculture is responsible for around 11% of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe. In the Netherlands the percentage is as high as 15%. These emissions have been stable for years, while significant sustainability has occurred in sectors such as industry and energy production.
The outgoing Rutte IV cabinet wants agricultural emissions to fall by more than a quarter in the coming years, but many policies are still missing to achieve this goal. The agreements in this regard would be made as part of the Agriculture Agreement, which failed last year due to disagreements over the decline in the livestock population.
With this advice, the EU Council throws the hammer into the woods, just as German farmers take to the streets en masse due to the disappearance of two tax breaks. Reforming the EU’s many billions of agricultural subsidies has been a difficult issue in Brussels for many years.
With a lot of pain and effort, we managed to set aside a quarter of these subsidies for sustainable agriculture in 2021. But most of the money is still distributed based on the number of hectares of land farmers have.
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Farmers must receive compensation
German climate economist Ottmar Edenhofer, president of the Climate Council, does not want to discuss the political situation in Germany in conversations with journalists. But he acknowledges that removing farm subsidies could provoke resistance. According to him, it is therefore important that subsidies are shifted towards sustainable activities, so that farmers receive adequate compensation for greening.
“If you introduce a reform very quickly and unexpectedly, it will always arouse resistance,” says Edenhofer. “It must therefore be communicated very clearly and implemented in a credible way.”
According to the Climate Council, it would be appropriate to set a price for CO2 on agricultural emissions. A similar system already exists for heavy industry, electricity and aviation within the EU. From 2027 there will also be a CO2 tax on building heating and road traffic, but agriculture is still missing.
A CO2 price in agriculture could make meat, in particular, more expensive for consumers. To ensure that food does not become too expensive for poorer families, the advice suggests, governments could, for example, compensate by reducing VAT on fruit and vegetables to zero.
90% less CO2 in 2040
The EU hopes to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030. It recently emerged that EU countries’ national plans lead to a reduction of around 51%.
Acceleration is therefore still needed, but the EU Climate Council emphasizes that climate policy must be further strengthened after 2030. Last year, the Council recommended setting the 2040 climate target at 90- 95% less CO2 than was emitted in 1990. European climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra says he wants to present member states with a target of at least 90% this spring.
2024-01-17 23:03:09
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