Many EU Agriculture Ministers stressed the need to ensure security of food supply during a debate on Tuesday 12 October in Luxembourg on the contribution of the agricultural and forestry sectors to the new ‘Fit for 55’ package.
A number of delegations also called for an impact assessment of the ‘climate package’.
Jože Podgoršek, Slovenian Minister of Agriculture and President-in-Office of the EU Council, stressed that agriculture and forests can also contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and act as carbon sinks. Some Member States have referred to the “risk” of the measures in the ‘climate package’ “for the competitiveness of EU agriculture and forestry and the risk of higher food prices”, the Slovenian Minister continued. Luxembourg mentioned a possible “reduction in production potential of 20%”, especially in the livestock sector.
France insisted on the need to support the agro-ecological transition of farms and mentioned the upcoming proposal on ‘carbon farming’.
According to Mr Podgoršek, some countries have pointed out that the carbon sequestration capacity of forests is limited.
The ‘Fit for 55’ package aims to achieve a reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions of at least 55% by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels). Three proposals have a clear link to agriculture and forestry, as they involve the revision of three key Regulations: the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) Regulation, the Effort Sharing Regulation, and the Renewable Energy Directive. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)