Denmark the first to tax farmers for methane emissions

Denmark is to become the first country in the world to attempt to reduce emissions from agriculture by taxing farmers on methane emissions. The country has also pledged to buy land from farmers to plant 250,000 hectares of new forest

The so-called Green Tripartite agreement, between the Danish government and leading industry, agriculture and environmental groups, will see farmers will having to pay 300 kroner (£34) per tonne of methane (CO2-eq) on emissions from livestock such as cows and pigs from 2030. This will rise to 750 kroner by 2035.

Yesterday it was also announced that 10 to 15% of the country’s farmland would be turned into forest and other natural habitats over the next 20 years, a process that will involve the planting of one billion trees. 140,000 hectares of peatlands – an effective carbon sink – will also be restored.

The government have announced that it will invest 43 billion kroner (£4.8 billion) in acquiring land from farmers over the next two decades.

The agreement has been called the biggest change to the Danish landscape in over 100 years.

Jeppe Bruus, head of the Green Tripartite Ministry, said: ‘The Danish nature will change in a way we have not seen since the wetlands were drained in 1864.

‘It is a huge, huge task that is now underway: to transform large parts of our land from agricultural production to forestry, to natural spaces, to ensure that we can bring life back to our fjords.’

Around 60% of land in Denmark’s is cultivated, a proportion only matched by Bangladesh.

Agriculture is Denmark’s largest source of greenhouse gases and as such is vital to the country’s ambition of cutting such emissions by 70% from 1990 levels.

Earlier this year, New Zealand – where 50% of GHG emissions are generated by agriculture – announced that they were scrapping plans for a similar tax, which was due to be implemented next year.