EU Green Deal for a climate- neutral Europe
The EU Green Deal is the big initiative of the recently installed EU Commission. Led by Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen it has the overall aim of making Europe a climate-neutral continent by 2050. Articles on the main aspects of the Green Deal will be published here on Teagasc Daily.
The 'Green Deal' contains a set of policy initiatives, two of which are directly relevant to agriculture and food production:
- the Farm to Fork strategy
- the Biodiversity strategy
There are headline targets such as:
- cutting fertiliser use by 20 %
- reducing use of antimicrobials in farmed animals by 50 %
- reducing pesticide use by 50%
- 10 % of agricultural area under high- diversity landscape features
- 25 % of farmed land in organic production
The proposals and the pace of implementation along with the allocation of targets to individual countries will be well debated. The Green Deal is without doubt setting the direction of travel for European agriculture for the coming years.
Follow us here on Teagasc Daily where we will have more information on:
- The biodiversity strategy
- Pest control
- Reducing nutrient losses and fertiliser use
- Antimicrobial use and resistance in ruminants
- Organic ambition