Farmers want “incentives” to achieve climate neutrality – von der Leyen

According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, farmers expect “incentives” to achieve climate neutrality goals.

The European Union (EU) has set a net zero emissions target by 2050; and a 55% emissions reduction target by 2030, both compared to 1990 levels.

Climate neutrality by 2050 means achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions for the entire EU, mainly by reducing emissions, investing in green technologies and protecting the natural environment.

During yesterday’s (Thursday, May 24) “Eurovision 2024 Debate” in Brussels between the main candidates for President of the Commission, the candidates for this role were asked about climate change and the EU’s response to it.

They also discussed the EU Green Deal, climate neutrality goals and the implementation of new rules of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

President von der Leyen said the EU must implement climate neutrality by 2050 and that is why “dialogues are being held with industry and farmers to ask them what (they) need to achieve climate neutrality.”

“For example, in the dialogue with farmers, the answers from farmers are very clear.

“They say: ‘we want climate neutrality because we live by nature.’ We know we want to get there, but… we want to move from conditionality to incentives“” – President von der Leyen referred to the farmers’ statements.

The other candidates for President of the Commission during the debate were: Nicolas Schmit, European Socialists Party; Sandro Gozi, Renew Europe Now; Terry Reintke, European Greens; and Walter Baier, the European Left.

Reintke from the European Greens called during the debate for a “reform of EU agricultural policy.”

The German MEP said the reform was necessary “because we see that farmers can no longer live on what they produce.

“We need sustainable development in terms of climate, environment, but also farmers’ incomes, and for this we need to change the way subsidies are distributed in Europe,” she added.

A targeted overhaul of the CAP will come into effect from tomorrow (Saturday, May 25), aiming to reduce the control burden on EU farmers, thereby providing more flexibility to comply with certain environmental rules.

Among the conditions of the review, small farms up to 10 ha will be exempt from inspections and penalties related to compliance with conditionality requirements.

Other changes include:

• Under the GAEC 8 standard on non-productive features – EU farmers will have to maintain existing landscape features on their land, but will no longer be obliged to devote a minimum share of their arable land to non-productive areas such as fallow land;
• Under the GAEC 7 crop rotation standard – EU farmers will be able to meet this requirement by choosing to rotate or diversify their crops, depending on the conditions they face and if their country decides to include a crop diversification option in its CAP Strategic Plan;
• Under the GAEC 6 standard on soil cover in sensitive periods – Member States will have greater flexibility in establishing what they define as “sensitive periods” and the practices that can meet this requirement, in light of their national and regional conditions and in the context of increasing variability weather.