The European Commission has thrown in the towel on plans to cut climate change emissions in agriculture: https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/eu-commission-backtracks-on-agricultural-emissions-cuts/
The recent farmer protests across Europe have undoubtedly been a factor, but there has also been concern about far right gains in the upcoming European Parliament elections which could undermine the European project as a whole. The desire of Urusla von Ley en to secure a second term as Commission president is also part of the context: https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/news/speech-president-von-der-leyen-european-parliament-plenary-conclusions-european-council-meetings-2024-02-06_en.
Reducing climate change emissions in agriculture are not an optional extra. In France, for example, they account for 12 per cent of emissions, far exceeding the contribution of agriculture to GDP or employment. Unfortunately, governments in general have a tendency to back away from effective measures of climate change once they threaten current lifestyles or working patterns. This is in spite of increasing evidence of a climate emergency.
Apparently the intention is to have a policy that covers the food sector as a whole which is not without merit but undermined if other measures are dropped. The Greens are calling for a windfall tax on the profits of agri-food companies.
The plan to halve pesticide use by 2030 is to be dropped. This is, of course, not directly related to climate change. It would have an impact on production. Biological alternatives to synthetics are being developed and are increasing market share, but there are not enough of them and they are not suitable for all crops. This policy might also have been onerous for farmers in terms of form filling.' According to von Leyen, the pesticides measure has become a symbol of polarization. Shares in Bayer, the EU's biggest pesticides producer, rose by 2 per cent.
Animal welfare rules are set to be watered down and unpopular (and largely ineffective) set aside requirements abandoned.
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