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Denmark is set to become the first country to hold bovines accountable for their carbon footprint.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Following an agreement earlier this week by the Scandinavian nation\u2019s coalition government, lawmakers announced a plan to tax farmers about $43 (300 kroner) per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted by cows, pigs and sheep, which account for a huge portion of global methane emissions. The tax, which is part of a broader climate agreement to reduce emissions and preserve habitats, will go into effect in 2030.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWith today\u2019s agreement, we are investing billions in the biggest transformation of the Danish landscape in recent times,\u201d Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in a statement Tuesday, according to CNN<\/em><\/a>. \u201cAt the same time, we will be the first country in the world with a (carbon) tax on agriculture.\u201d<\/p>\n Agriculture is a major culprit in the global climate crisis. In 2015, livestock farming alone contributed around 12% of manmade greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN\u2019s Food and Agriculture Organization<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n And in Denmark, a major exporter of dairy and pork, that problem is even more pronounced. A quarter of the Scandinavian nation\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, more than any other sector, according to a 2022 report from the European Commission<\/a>.<\/p>\n Because of a 60% tax break that was a part of the agreement, the actual cost per ton of CO2 equivalent for farmers will be just 120 kroner ($17) for the first five years of the policy. The average dairy cow in Denmark produces 5.6 tons of CO2 equivalent per year, according to Danish think tank Concito. That will equate to an annual tax of 672 kroner per cow\u2014or roughly $96. In 2035, the rate will go up to 300 kroner per CO2 ton ($42).<\/p>\n The levy is expected to be approved by the Danish Parliament later this year, and while it would be the first time such a policy has been implemented, it isn\u2019t the first time a country has tried. In fact, the \u201cburp tax\u201d is coming to Europe right after it died on the vine in Oceania.\u00a0<\/p>\n Grassy New Zealand was actually the first nation to propose a burp tax, back in 2022. The island nation is dominated by livestock\u2014both in terms of economics and population. In 2023, dairy accounted for 28% of its exports, according to the International Trade Administration<\/a>, and cows and sheep outnumber people seven to one.\u00a0<\/p>\n If it had stuck around, the policy would have started taxing New Zealand farmers next year, but the plan sparked outrage in the agricultural industry. In 2022, Andrew Hoggard, head of New Zealand\u2019s agriculture lobbying group, said it would \u201crip the guts out of small-town New Zealand<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this month, the country\u2019s new center-right government said it was scrapping the plan<\/a> and exploring other ways to reduce methane emissions.<\/p>\n In Europe, agriculture groups have responded to Denmark\u2019s announcement with mixed feelings.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a statement on Tuesday<\/a>, Peter Ki\u00e6r, chairman of the Danish farmer\u2019s group B\u00e6redygtigt Landbrug, called the plan bureaucratic and unnecessary.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe recognize that there is a climate problem, and Danish agriculture will help solve it,\u201d Ki\u00e6r said. \u201cBut we do not believe that this agreement will solve the problems, because it will put a stick in the wheel of agriculture\u2019s green investments.\u201d<\/p>\n Kristian Hundeboll, the CEO of DLG Group, a Danish-owned cooperative that is one of the largest farm supply companies in Europe, told CNN<\/em> that, for Danish farmers to stay competitive, the policy would have to coincide with European Union legislation.<\/p>\n \u201cNeither the climate, agriculture nor the ancillary industries benefit from Denmark acting unilaterally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Enacting any kind of similar policy across the bloc may be hard to achieve. The climate lobby in Europe is on the back foot after sweeping legislation to restore damaged habitats was shelved in March<\/a> following a wave of farmer protests that embroiled the continent. Earlier this month, elections for the European Parliament\u2014the legislative body of the European Union\u2014resulted in significant gains for the political right<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nAgriculture tax in New Zealand<\/h2>\n
Pushback from European farmers<\/h2>\n