Denmark will tax emissions from agriculture and livestock.It's the first time in the world

The Danish government has announced the introduction of a tax on agricultural and livestock emissions.The historic agreement also provides for a conversion of agricultural land into wetlands and forests.

• Denmark will be the first country to introduce a tax on CO2 emissions from agriculture and livestock.
• The measure is the result of a historic agreement between government, farmers, industry and environmental groups.
• The agreement provides for a tax per ton of CO2 caused by livestock farming, use of synthetic chemical fertilizers and other agricultural activities.
• Huge funds will also be allocated for the reconstruction of wetlands and forests.

The government of Denmark has announced that it will introduce starting from 2030 a climate tax on CO2 produced by agriculture with the aim of helping to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of 70 percent compared to 1990.The measure, the first of its kind in the world, will have to be approved by Danish parliament but, in the meantime, a has been achieved agreement on the contents after months of negotiations between farmers, industry, unions and environmental groups.

All parties said they were satisfied with the compromise, a historic step towards the protection of biodiversity and the future ofagriculture.“We will be the first country in the world to introduce a real CO2 tax on agriculture.Other countries will draw inspiration from it,” he said Jeppe Bruus, Danish Tax Minister, who called the measure a big step towards climate neutrality.

How the agricultural and livestock emissions tax announced by Denmark works

The agreement provides for a tax, in 2030, of 300 Danish kroner (about 40 euros) for ton of CO2 coming from farms, use of fertilizers and other agricultural activities, which will increase to 750 crowns (around 100 euros) by 2035.To ease the transition, farmers will be entitled to a 60 percent income tax credit for the first five years.

Funds to restore wetlands and forests

For theDanish Association for Nature Conservation, it is a “historic” agreement.“We managed to reduce the agricultural area in order to have space for nature, protect the climate, the environment and our fjords,” said the president of the association Maria Gjerding.In addition to the tax, the government will in fact allocate 40 billion Danish crowns (over 5 billion euros) to begin “the largest land conversion in the history of Denmark”.The funds will be used to rebuild the wetlands of the country which are important carbon sinks and to create 250 thousand hectares of new forest on agricultural land.And by 2030, five new major ones will be defined national natural parks.