News Ground
Denmark sacrifices 10% of agricultural land for forests
Denmark's three ruling political parties have reached an agreement this week to convert 10% of its agricultural land into forests and nature reserves. The aim is to reduce emissions, meet nitrogen emissions requirements and use less artificial fertiliser.
Farmers in the country are facing a huge change in the coming two decades. According to the three parties, who signed an agreement on Monday 18 November, it is the biggest landscape change in more than a hundred years. A billion trees must be planted in Danish soil and many low-lying, sensitive agricultural areas must be returned to nature.
€5,8 billion for land purchase
At the moment, Denmark has 640.000 hectares of forest areas. Good for almost 15% of the total land area. In comparison: in the Netherlands that is 11%. If it is up to the three governing liberal and green parties, that will soon be a quarter. They are setting aside the equivalent of €5,8 billion in the government budget to buy up land from farmers in the coming twenty years.
In total, it concerns 250.000 hectares of agricultural land on which trees are to be planted. Another 140.000 hectares will be converted into nature reserves. The Danish agricultural interest group Vestjysk Landboforening is sceptical about the plans and mainly foresees problems in finding land for the government plans.
40% budget increase
The greening plan is not the only one the Danish government came up with this week. It is part of a much broader package for agriculture. For example, the agricultural budget will be increased by the equivalent of €630 million to €2,2 billion in 2030. This will give agriculture 40% more state support, while it is already the most supported sector in the country. Farmers can use the money to green their operations, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and take many other investments and measures.
There is more change on the horizon for farmers in Denmark. Earlier this year, the government came up with a plan to tax livestock farmers for greenhouse gas emissions. This should become a reality by 2030. Dairy, pig and sheep farmers will be affected. With this greenhouse gas tax, Denmark is the first country in the world to introduce such a measure. Until then, the sector must do everything it can to reduce nitrogen emissions.
€140 tax per cow
In five years, livestock farmers will pay €16 per ton of emitted CO2 and methane. This tax will be increased in steps to €40 per ton. In practice, this amounts to around €140 per cow, according to calculations. According to the government, having companies voluntarily reduce their emissions is not effective enough, which is why it is coming up with this drastic measure.
Niels van der Boom
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