The European Commission (E.C.), the Council and the European Parliament on April 21 agreed on the “European Climate Law,” which turned the European Union’s (E.U.) “Green Deal” cornerstone goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 into a binding obligation.
The formal trialogue agreement follows the E.C’s draft proposal in March 2020 for the European Climate Law regulation establishing the framework for making net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 legally binding.
A stumbling block had been which climate target should be set to be achieved by 2030. The European Parliament had been in favor of a 60 percent reduction in net emissions compared with 1990. But a 55 percent reduction in net emissions target by 2030 has now been confirmed.
In June 2021, the E.C. will present concrete proposals for implementing the climate targets.
Yara International ASA, Oslo, has welcomed last week’s deal.
“Through the Farm-to-Fork Strategy, the E.U. has put the spotlight on agriculture as a key contributor to meet the climate targets now confirmed, “Yara Europe Executive Vice President Tove Andersen, said at a company first-quarter earnings presentation call on April 23.
She said the key targets set out in the E.U.’s Farm-to-Fork Strategy to make the food system more sustainable represent “a significant challenge” for both farmers and food companies.
The targets for 2030 include: a 50 percent reduction in nutrient losses; organic farming to reach 25 percent of E.U. farmland, reduction of food waste by 50 percent, and the promotion of a sustainable diet, as well as the transformation of E.U. agriculture and the food system.
However, Andersen believes Yara is perfectly positioned with its premium portfolio, its agronomic knowledge, and digital capabilities to take a leading role in this transition.
She reminded that the company’s European strategy has five focus areas.
“Yara will work with farmers, food companies, and other value chain players like insurance companies to develop ‘climate-smart’ solutions that improve both sustainability and profitability of farming,” Andersen said.
The company also plans to position itself to capture “a significant share” of the future growth segments in Europe, namely micronutrients, organic solutions, and biostimulants.
An important enabler for all the growth initiatives, Andersen reminded, is farmer connectivity. She expects a significant share of European farming to be digitally enabled within the next years.
“Developing a sustainable value chain is a key part of our strategy and we are working on a number of fronts to improve operations throughout the whole value chain to increase efficiency and reduce our environmental footprint, in line with the targets we as a company already have communicated,” said Andersen.
She reminded that nitrate-based products remain at the core of promoting climate-positive crop nutrition solutions, due to both their potential for carbon-free production and their higher efficiency and lower footprint in the field.