EU Farmers Facing End of Traditional Farming Practices

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – Just over two weeks ago, the European Commission (EU) presented its 2030 Climate Target Plan, vowing to slash greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) to a target equal to 55 percent of levels recorded in 1990. According to the Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS), the Plan includes a revision of the Renewable Energy Directive and the launch of an EU Carbon Farming Initiative. FAS suggests the EU will need to invest $408 billion (USD) more than spent over the past ten years to achieve the target by 2030. On food and agriculture, the impact assessment notes the importance of emissions reductions stemming from changing consumer choices towards healthy diets. According to the European Commission, this could be done through a sharp decrease in animal protein consumption, which they claim could potentially reduce emissions by more than 30 million tons in ten years. Also, the EC says producers have a role to play to enhance the carbon sink, and farming practices that remove CO2 from the atmosphere could contribute to the climate neutrality objective, and these practices should be rewarded. The Commission will propose an EU Carbon Farming Initiative by the end of next year and has already announced the development of a regulatory framework to certify carbon removals based on carbon accounting to monitor and verify the authenticity of carbon removals.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)