The data provided by the High Council on Climate of France indicates a slight decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in the country's agricultural sector, although this reduction is happening more slowly than in the previous year of 2023. In the seventh annual report published on July 3, the council characterized the decline in emissions in this sector as "slow" and put forward proposals to accelerate this process.
According to the report, achieving carbon neutrality after 2030 will require an urgent decarbonization of agriculture through a set of measures. Among the proposed measures are increasing carbon storage in soils, using anti-methane feed for animals (methane and N2O), and activating the potential of nitrogen-fixing legumes, which have not been fully utilized so far. The reduction in emissions is mainly related to a decrease in the number of large ruminants due to complex socio-economic conditions and climate change.
The High Council on Climate suggests increasing the pace of reducing emissions in the agricultural sector by 2.8 times to reach the target level by 2030 (in line with the SNBC 3 plan), and then further accelerating this process after 2030.
However, the council notes that without structural changes in the agricultural sector, the possibilities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing carbon stocks, and adapting are limited. This poses serious risks to farmers' incomes and the country's food sovereignty. The lack of clearly defined goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in domestic policy and governance, as noted by the council, requires correction. It is also necessary to speed up and improve the financing of the National Strategy on Food, Nutrition, and Climate (Snanc), as well as review the inadequate climate aspects of the "Law on Agricultural Orientation."
Thus, the lack of adequate economic mechanisms for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the agro-industrial complex, underutilization of the tax system, and the orientation of financial resources towards crisis response without preventive measures lead to a worsening situation. The impact of climate change affects farmers' incomes, deepening inequality in the production, food industry, and trade sectors.
In conclusion, the council emphasizes the need for "collective effort to re-establish climate priorities: strengthening the state strategy, structural reforms, effective management, and clear direction towards 2030 and the subsequent decade."
Based on the report by the High Council on Climate.
