On Tuesday, 24 September, in Helsinki, the European ministers of agriculture judged that the proposals for the post-2020 common agricultural policy (CAP) offered sufficient tools to fight climate change and increase soil carbon storage.
During the informal meeting, Finland’s presidency of the Council of the EU organised a debate on the role of agriculture in carbon sequestration in soils.
In Finnish minister Jari Leppä’s opinion, carbon sequestration in soils is one of the effective ways to mitigate the effects of climate change. “Good agricultural practices can help soils absorb more carbon, and these techniques can be backed by the CAP”, said the Finnish minister.
Several ministers, including those from France, Spain, and Ireland, thought that the CAP budget should be commensurate with environmental ambition.
France, notably supported by Spain, reiterated the country’s commitment in favour of soil carbon storage through the ‘4 per 1000’ initiative.
The Commission reiterated that it had proposed strengthening the environmental dimension of the CAP (reinforced conditionality, mandatory eco-regime, rural development measures).
Certain countries argued that trade agreements should fully take sustainable development into account and be based on fair competition rules, with Poland referring to the EU-Mercosur agreement. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)