Dutch environmental group keen to show EU way ahead

Areport from a Dutch environmental group has claimed the government there will have to lead the European Union with policies to curb livestock production and encourage people into plant-based diets.

The report from the council for the environment and infrastructure claims this is the only way the Netherlands can achieve its Paris climate change commitment to reduce greenhouse gases by 90% by 2050.

Livestock accounts for around 10% of greenhouse gases, and the Netherlands has one of the most intensive industries in Europe because of the limits on land availability.

The council wants to see emission targets imposed on individual farms.

Meanwhile, a London researcher has warned current pesticide evaluation models don’t take account of the combined effect of these products.

The Brunel University professor told a Green Party conference in the European parliament that whether a cocktail of products in sprays was more harmful than the active ingredients was an issue that needed to be addressed.

The government in London is yet to make any decisions on environmental policy and farming after Brexit – including the rules it will use to decide on product approvals. The future of GI (geographic indication) products after Brexit is one of the many unknowns in agriculture.

Now the organisation that represents businesses that have PGI and similar status levels has warned that if protection for these products is lost after Brexit it may seek compensation from UK courts. This would be on grounds that London is not giving the products the international protection that is part of the current rules.

The organisation that represents those with intellectual property rights is known as Origin. It says its warning relates not only to the protection of UK products, but also to PGI products from the EU-27.

The government has suggested it will maintain GI standards, but did not give details in any of its recent reports on preparations for a hard Brexit.

A Dutch environmental group wants to see curbs on livestock production in order to reduce greenhouse gases.