Gassy cows and pigs will face a carbon tax in Denmark, a world first
Associated PressCOPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark will tax livestock farmers for the greenhouse gases emitted by their cows, sheep and pigs from 2030, the first country to do so as it targets a major source of methane emissions, one of the most potent gases contributing to global warming. Livestock account for about 32% of human-caused methane emissions, says the U.N. “We will take a big step closer in becoming climate neutral in 2045,” Bruus said, adding Denmark “will be the first country in the world to introduce a real CO2 tax on agriculture” and hoped other countries would follow suit. The Danish Society for Nature Conservation, the largest nature conservation and environmental organization in Denmark, described the tax agreement as “a historic compromise.” “We have succeeded in landing a compromise on a CO2 tax, which lays the groundwork for a restructured food industry -– also on the other side of 2030,” its head Maria Reumert Gjerding said after the talks in which they took part. Denmark, which is a large dairy and pork exporter, also will tax pigs although cows produce far higher emissions than pigs.
History of this topic
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