Climate scrapped from Agriculture Council, and key report missing

11 April 2019
by WWF -- last modified 11 April 2019

Just days before EU agriculture ministers were due to discuss the EU's long-term climate strategy, it has been taken off the agenda. What's more, a crucial report on the impact of agriculture policy on the climate has still not been released by the European Commission, although it was due in summer 2018.

With the need for climate action more urgent than ever, it is alarming that the major role of farming in causing greenhouse gas emissions, and its potential to help absorb them, appears to have been pushed to the back seat.

Imke Lübbeke, Head of Climate and Energy at WWF European Policy Office said:

"It is baffling that discussion of the climate strategy has been scrapped from the Agriculture Council agenda with just a couple of days' notice. Tackling the impact of farming is crucial to keep global warming to 1.5°C, and the EU's long-term climate strategy is the European cornerstone to this. The fact that the assessment of the CAP's impacts on climate change is still missing is another worrying sign of the EU's failure to appreciate the urgency of action.
"It is imperative that the long-term climate strategy be on the agenda of the next Agriculture Council in May. In this way, ministers can share their solutions on how the farming sector can help climate action before Heads of State and Government discuss the strategy in June."

Jabier Ruiz, Senior Policy Officer, Agriculture & Food at WWF European Policy Office said:

"Farmers are currently climate victims - on the front-line of climate change - but if we act swiftly, they could actually become climate champions while safeguarding their business and jobs. They could do this by pressing for rapid emissions cuts and adopting practices that help store more carbon in soils and landscapes. It is essential that such action be part and parcel of the EU's long-term climate strategy and the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy."

The European Policy Office helps shape EU policies that impact on the European and global environment.

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