Agriculture and forestry are highly exposed to the impact of climate change: increased fluctuations in seasonality disrupt farming cycles, while substantial challenges arise from changing rainfall patterns and extreme weather events, such as heat waves, droughts, storms, and floods.
The common agricultural policy sets out to ensure that farmers can be more resilient to climate uncertainty, while at the same time reduce emissions, and mitigate climate change.
Climate change and agriculture in the EU
Agriculture has a positive and important role to play in climate change mitigation: the crops, hedgerows, and trees found on farmland sequester carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, while properly managed soils and protection of grassland provide long term carbon storage.
However, agriculture also accounts for around 11% (378.43 MtCO2e, 2021) of total greenhouse gas emissions in the EU, coming behind the energy, transport, residential, and commercial sectors. Two types of greenhouse gas in particular are associated with agricultural practices:
- methane (CH4) – from livestock digestion processes, manure management, and rice cultivation;
- nitrous oxide (N2O) – from agricultural soils with organic and mineral nitrogen fertilisation, and manure management.
In the EU, the agricultural sector reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 24% between 1990 and 2021.
Through the common agricultural policy (CAP), the European Commission aims to ensure that agriculture makes a strong contribution to the EU’s climate policies.
As part of the the European Green Deal, the Farm to Fork strategy outlines the framework for a transition towards a sustainable food system, in which farmers can continue to meet society’s demands for food while also protecting the climate. The CAP is the key tool to support farmers in this transition.
CAP actions
The CAP promotes sustainable agricultural systems in the EU, enabling farmers to:
provide safe, healthy, and sustainably-produced food for society;
earn a stable and fair income, taking into account the full range of public goods they provide;
protect natural resources, enhance biodiversity, and contribute to the fight against climate change.
The CAP provides support for climate action in agriculture and forestry through a number of rules and measures.
The CAP 2023-27 entered into force on 1 January 2023. It puts agriculture closer in line with the climate ambitions of the European Green Deal.
CAP specific objective
One of the ten specific objectives of the CAP 2023-27 focuses on climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as developing agriculture’s use and provision of sustainable energy.
CAP Strategic Plans
In their CAP Strategic Plans, EU countries can deliver on EU climate goals by targeting national needs and potential. Countries have more flexibility to design interventions around local and regional requirements for climate change adaptation, and capitalise on the possibilities for emissions reductions in their agriculture sectors.
EU countries’ CAP Strategic Plans combine a wide range of targeted interventions to address their specific needs and deliver tangible results.
The plans must contribute to, and be consistent with, EU legislation and commitments relating to climate and environment.
Conditionality
Under conditionality rules, beneficiaries of the CAP have their payments linked with a set of statutory management requirements (SMRs) and good agricultural and environmental conditions (GAECs). Conditionality rules safeguard natural resources under increasing pressure from climate change, while specific rules to protect soil:
- the requirement for minimum soil cover under GAEC 6,
- contribute to carbon storage, the requirement to maintenance permanent grassland under GAEC 1, and
- the protection of wetlands and peatlands under GAEC 2.
Eco-schemes
Under current CAP rules, farmers can receive eco-schemes payments. Eco-schemes support farmers who adopt or maintain farming practices that contribute to EU environmental and climate goals. Through eco-schemes, the EU rewards farmers for preserving natural resources and providing public goods, which are benefits to the public that are not reflected in market prices and can include practices that support climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Rural development interventions
Climate change mitigation and adaptation is also supported through rural development interventions. In their CAP Strategic Plans, EU countries can contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation through interventions that:
- facilitate the supply and use of renewable sources of energy;
- reduce greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions from agriculture;
- foster carbon conservation and sequestration in agriculture and forestry.
EU countries can direct a number of measures towards climate action and adaptation, such as:
- agri-environment-climate commitments (AECCs), under which farmers can commit to climate friendly practices and management systems, such as agro-ecology or agro-forestry;
- investments in physical assets can be directed towards manure storage facilities that reduce ammonia emissions;
- measures to support agro-forestry and/or forestry development and management that enhance the important role of forests in carbon sequestration;
- a risk management measure that can be used to back mutual funds for adverse climatic events;
- measures for cooperation, knowledge transfer and advisory services that foster knowledge and innovation on climate-relevant farming practices.
The European (EU) CAP Network facilitates the sharing of ideas and good practices for agricultural ecosystems through thematic work on eco-schemes, and on the green architecture.
The agricultural European Innovative Partnership (EIP-AGRI) brings together focus groups, operational groups, projects, publications and events to advance innovation in agriculture and climate change. Areas of focus include carbon storage in arable farming, agroforestry, reducing emissions in cattle farming and using renewable energy on the farm.
Green architecture
The CAP 2023-27 includes a new green architecture, which enhances opportunities for climate-friendly farming.
- For example, enhanced conditionality includes existing requirements, such as the protection of permanent grassland, but in a strengthened and streamlined form.
- It also includes requirements such as the protection of peatland and wetland;
- A significant portion of the CAP’s budget is devoted to eco-schemes, which can support voluntary practices by farmers that contribute to climate change mitigation and reduced emissions.
At the same time, EU countries are obliged to reserve at least 35% of their rural development budget for environmental and climate-related practices. Support for rural development continues to fund land management payments, investments, knowledge-building, innovation and co-operation relevant to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
This document provides a detailed overview of the 27 EU members’ key elements and choices in their approved national plans. It also responds to requests for information to summarise what plans contain and aim to deliver.
Monitoring progress
Through the common monitoring and evaluation framework, the Commission collects a variety of data indicators relating to agriculture and climate change. The CMEF also facilitates a range of evaluations and external studies to measure the performance of the CAP. In June 2021, the Commission published an independent evaluation assessing the CAP's impact on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.
The CAP 2023-27 includes a reinforced performance monitoring and evaluation framework, which facilitates greater accountability and the transition to a performance-based delivery model.
Environment and climate action data
A summary of information related to EU agriculture and the environment and climate action.
Dashboard on organic matter in arable land, share of land under contracts to improve soil, and crop diversity.
Dashboard reporting information on topics such as GHG and ammonia emissions from agriculture, and mean organic carbon content.
Dashboard covering topics such as share of irrigated area in total UAA, nitrates in ground water, and water abstraction.
Dashboard covering topics such as share of ecological focus area, agricultural habitats by conservation status and land supporting biodiversity.
Knowledge, research, and innovation
By funding research and innovation, the Commission supports the development of modern systems of agriculture and forestry that can contribute to climate action while remaining productive and profitable. For example, the Horizon Europe mission on soil health seeks to harness the potential of soil to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The farm advisory system shares new knowledge and best practices, helping farmers to implement appropriate solutions for their specific situations.
Legal basis
Conditionality is governed by:
- rules on support for Strategic Plans drawn up by EU countries under the common agricultural policy (Regulation (EU) 2021/2115) (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/126);
- rules on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy (Regulation (EU) 2021/2116) (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/128).
Eco-schemes, AECCs and investments are governed by:
- rules on support for Strategic Plans drawn up by EU countries under the common agricultural policy (Regulation (EU) 2021/2115).
