The EU is to become climate neutral by 2050. According to a new study, agriculture and forestry could increase their contribution enormously – but there is a lack of an adequate political framework.
According to a new study, greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and agricultural peatlands in the EU could be reduced by more than half by 2045. This could be achieved primarily through less livestock farming, rewetting of peatlands and more climate-friendly fertilization, according to a simulation study by the think tank Agora Agrar.
According to the study, greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced particularly by rewetting drained moorlands. If around 80 percent of the drained wetlands currently used for agriculture were rewetted, emissions of around 70 million tons of CO2 equivalents could be avoided annually, it says. This roughly corresponds to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of a country such as Austria.
Stronger plant-based diet
According to the study’s scenario, consumers would also have to change their habits to achieve more climate-friendly agriculture: In order to achieve the reduction in agricultural greenhouse gases calculated in the simulation, the researchers assume that the consumption of animal products will be halved by 2045. This would directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But numerous areas currently used to grow animal feed, for example, could also be used for other purposes.
It is important to use state funds from EU agricultural policy in such a way that sustainability becomes an income opportunity for agriculture and forestry, said Christine Chemnitz, co-director of Agora Agrar. In the upcoming EU legislative period, a political framework should be created that promotes efficient land use and sustainable consumption and rewards farmers for climate-friendly measures, she demands.
Source: Stern
