The EU has prided itself on standing up for the environment in recent times, CNBC reports.
But now the union has softened its climate policy following angry protests by farmers across the continent, so its reputation as a “climate defender” is now being severely tested.
The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, may scrap a plan to halve pesticide use. What’s more, last week the organisation decided to exclude the agricultural sector from a strict timetable to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 90 per cent by 2040.
Speaking to CNBC on Thursday, EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said he was “delighted” by the twists and turns because they were not “entirely fair.” he said, adding that the solution is to provide more financial subsidies to the sector to incentivize them to pursue greener practices:
We need to reduce the use of pesticides, but not to force the farmers [to do it].
The EU wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. The EU also plans to become carbon neutral by 2050.
Asked whether recent policy changes could jeopardise these ambitious targets, Wojciechowski said:
This is the general target for the whole economy, but in agriculture, we should take into account the specifics of agriculture.
The EU is reassessing Europe’s climate policy ahead of parliamentary elections in June. Alberto Alemanno, a professor at H.E.C. Paris Business School, told CNBC via email:
The farmers’ question is set to dominate the electoral competition ahead of the European Parliament 2024 [elections], by becoming one of the few pan-European issues, over which various parties will be competing. The next EU political cycle (2024-29) will undoubtedly be less green to the point of putting into question the implementation of the green new deal [Europe’s flagship program towards carbon neutrality] and slowing down its next chapters such as the extension of sustainability requirements to agriculture.
Alemanno also added that the recent protests “are just a prelude of further clashes to come.”
In recent weeks, farmers have been spurred to protest by a confluence of circumstances that have caused some damage in capitals such as Paris. These include rising costs, increasing debt, competition from cheaper markets, falling selling prices, and benefits for non-EU farmers.
For example, the average price of agricultural products received by farmers fell by 9% in the third quarter of 2023 compared to a year earlier.
Luc Vernet, secretary general of the Farm Europe think tank, told CNBC that farmers need more investment support. He said:
Farmers do not have access anymore to cheap money and bankers are much more reluctant to [lend] money to the farming sector. So, we really need to reflect within the European Union on how to deliver the transition, because clearly there is a need to move on.
Farmers are at the centre of one of the EU’s most important and historic pieces of legislation: the Common Agricultural Policy, which allocates 55 billion euros ($59.3 billion) annually in subsidies to the sector.
Late last week, the farmers’ protest even travelled across the Channel to the UK. British farmers, who are no longer part of the EU, staged an impromptu tractor demonstration in the port city of Dover on Friday in opposition to foreign food imports.
