On the deal reached on the EU Climate Law

Copa and Cogeca welcome the provisional agreement on the European Climate Law decided today. The European Climate Law is a key legislation which will define the path of European farming in the coming decades. European farmers and agri-cooperatives support the agreement's objective on net greenhouse gas reduction. We regard the carbon farming initiative as a key element of delivering carbon removals via market-based carbon-crediting schemes. The impacts of climate change take an ever-increasing toll on the agricultural sector and farming livelihoods, therefore a strong focus on climate change adaptation is particularly welcomed.

Besides farming, forestry will play a major role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The role of actively managed forests is key in substituting fossil-based materials and energy in the carbon storage of harvested wood products. Promoting the use of forests mainly as carbon sinks is not an appropriate measure to combat climate change but rather a high-risk strategy. Therefore, it is essential that the entire forest cycle and the numerous ecological and socio-economic services that forests provide be considered.

The provisional agreement projects a promising ground for fair cross-sectorial cooperation, where all sectors and production methods must be able to make their contribution. Farmers and agri-cooperatives stand ready to contribute while ensuring food security under Article 2.1(b) of the Paris Agreement. 

We regard the upcoming 'Fit to 55' package and the corresponding overview of the EU climate legislation as an opportunity to design an enabling policy framework.