As the EU sets out its framework for post-2030 climate action, the EEB’s expert on climate and agriculture, Mathieu Mal, lays out a pathway for climate action in agriculture. Action that would cut emissions and make European farms more resilient in the face of multiple crises.
This past summer, the climate crisis became very real for people across Europe. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it the “summer of truth”, warning that the severe climate impacts suffered by almost the entire continent are “a mere preview”. These devastating extremes combined with geopolitical shocks have laid bare the deplorable state of our farming ecosystems. Many farms – and farmers – just couldn’t cope.
Whether it was heat stress or financial pressure, many of the challenges farmers face are the symptoms of a food and farming system that fails to protect its very foundations: healthy, balanced, and diverse ecosystems. Healthy ecosystems protect against climate shocks, including droughts and floods, shielding yields, and lowering production costs by reducing the need for external inputs, such as fertilisers. But they are severely lacking across our food and farming system.
An opportunity at risk
EU agriculture isn’t just a victim of climate breakdown, it is also one of the biggest drivers. Intensive agriculture produces climate warming super pollutants such as methane and nitrous oxide, yet the sector lags behind others in climate action, with no clear plan to catch up. Add the devastating pollution and destruction of nature stemming from industrial agriculture practices and the growing vulnerability of farmers reliant on volatile fossil fuel and animal feed markets and we have a sector facing an existential problem that begs for change.
With much of the EU’s climate legislation up for revision before the end of 2026, we have a window to finally ensure agricultural production aligns with the changing world and the climate and environmental objectives we depend on for our joint survival. It is entirely possible and necessary for our food and farming sector to deliver deep emission cuts, we just need political will and vision to do it.
However, the current mood in Brussels may derail this golden opportunity. The drive to remove rules that protect people and nature, while increasing so-called “flexibilities” in the rules that remain, bodes poorly for a transition to resilient farming. It seems that some would rather throw taxpayer money (in the form of crisis-cash) at farmers to see them through this year, than change the system that put them in this position in the first place.
All hands on deck
Reaching climate neutrality requires action from all EU countries and sectors. The option to delay or distract, through the purchase of international credits or other flexibilities, is a luxury we do not have. Either we change our food and farming system, or climate breakdown and environmental degradation will change it for us. Decades of complacency by some, and greedy exploitation by others mean there is a lot of work to be done – but it is achievable. With binding science-based targets new instruments that make polluters pay for their emissions, and a reform of agricultural subsidies which continue to fail most farmers, we can restore our farmlands back to health and reduce emissions.
Farmers all over Europe are not only demonstrating that nature-friendly farming works, but that it often works better in times of crisis. There need not be trade-offs between improving the health of our environment, the stability of our climate, the wellbeing of our animals, and the prosperity of our farmers and consumers. The extremes of these past summers have made another compelling case for urgent climate action and a fundamental reshaping of our food and farming system. The case for farming with – not against – nature is clear: in a world with a changing climate and volatile global supply chains, there is no other option.
To discover more about how a strong post-2030 climate policy framework can enable the transition of our food and farming system, read our new position paper: Fit for Farming: The Role of Agriculture in EU Climate Policy Post 2030.
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Cover photo: Edited version of image captured by Siebe Warmoeskerken on Unsplash
