The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Plans to reduce gas emissions are backed
The European Parliament has backed proposals which would see greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from agriculture reduced by 30% by 2030.
MEPs have also called for a balancing out of emissions from agricultural activities against their absorption by farming and forestry activities – the carbon sink effect of grassland and forestry.
This recognises that agriculture is both part of the problem and part of the solution and is included in an EU plan to meet international obligations on climate change under the Paris treaty.
Significantly, the EU says individual farmers should be exempt from having to produce a GHG balance sheet for their land. Instead the pressure will be on manufacturers and member states to deliver technical solutions.
While the UK will be out of the EU before this comes into force, Brussels has already said that Britain will have to meet all its environmental regulations as part of the exit agreement.
The European Commission is set to delist some major Brazilian meat factories, meaning they will no longer be able to export to the EU. The list of 20 plants has not been published, but it is believed to include a number which are owned by the country’s biggest poultry processor, which have already seen trade suspended.
Most of the plants export poultry and the commission decision follows inspection visits. At issue are allegations that salmonella test results were falsified to allow exports of sub-standard meat. This will deny almost a third of Brazilian poultry plants access to Europe, and the EU decision is likely to be noted by other countries.
The Brazilian government has reacted angrily, accusing Brussels of protectionism and threatening to challenge it in the World Trade Organisation. However this is bluster, as the EU has a solid technical case to support its decision.
This is good ammunition in the UK for farmers and others warning of the risks of a post-Brexit surge in cheap meat imports.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which represents the world’s developed economies, says liberalisation of farm support has slowed down in recent years.
It says this has effected growth in countries with productive industries, by reducing the potential for exports. The main problems it cites are domestic support structures, such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and high tariffs on imports to protect farmers.
It says that if domestic support for agriculture were reduced by 50%, it would lead to a boom in trade for many countries. The countries it cites as potential winners from a radical policy shift include New Zealand, Australia, Canada and some in Latin America.