An Unavoidable Step after Paris: Cutting Emissions from Farming

In order to create a forward-looking agriculture sector that makes a significant contribution to the EU’s climate mitigation efforts, a solid knowledge base is needed as well as knowledge sharing and inclusive stakeholders’ dialogue. This includes a national and EU-wide evidence-based set of data on farming potential towards climate mitigation including socio-economic components, but also a policy analysis assessing to which extent this potential is currently achieved or underachieved and what role the current farming policy (CAP) plays in it and should play in the future. This study and policy assessments fed into dialogues between key stakeholders (farmers, NGOs, scientists, industry, etc.) at national and pan-European levels on climate friendly practices in order to facilitate the sharing of experiences. Through national and European workshops and subsequent communication work, an increased public and political awareness around the need for an ambitious legislative framework on climate and agriculture (national plans, governance and CAP) was created.

Although agriculture accounts for around 10% of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions and is one of the first sectors to bear the costs of devastating climate events, it is considered in the current debate as a sector with limited climate mitigation potential. Therefore, agriculture has so far been only called upon to do more to combat climate change to a limited extent. While EU climate legislation is currently in the co-decision procedure, the debate on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has only just begun: in November 2017, a European Commission Communication on the CAP after 2020 was published. The CAP uses a large part of the European budget and has shaped farming practices in Europe over the past decades. It can therefore play a crucial role in facilitating the transition to more sustainable and climate-friendly agriculture. However, this will only be possible if the next CAP is debated together with the farming community, if attention is paid to the environment, consumers, health issues, etc., and if it is aligned with European climate objectives and other common policy goals.

• The project increased awareness and knowledge about the need and potential of climate action in agriculture by collecting data, promoting dialogue, networking and knowledge sharing, conducting legal analyses and disseminating the results through a wide range of communication channels.
• The project has educated national and EU decision-makers on the benefits of climate-friendly agricultural policies.