Copenhagen: Denmark will introduce the world’s first carbon tax on livestock, a unique measure aimed at bringing the Scandinavian country closer to its goal of carbon neutrality by 2045.
From 2030, methane emissions caused by flatulence from cattle and pigs will be taxed at a rate of 300 crowns ($43) per tonne of CO2 equivalent.
This amount will rise to 750 crowns in 2035 based on an agreement concluded at the end of June between the government, part of the opposition and representatives of cattle breeders, industry and trade unions.
The text must still be approved by the parliament, which will review it after the summer.
For Christian Fromberg, head of the Greenpeace Nordic campaign, the text “offers hope… in a situation where many countries are retreating in the fight against climate”.
At the same time, Fromberg regretted the “missed opportunity” to bring “a new direction for Danish agriculture”.
And this despite the fact that its processes remain highly intensive and release a large amount of nitrogen, which is responsible for deoxygenating the water. Without oxygen, marine flora and fauna disappear.
