Not content with being the first country to publish a national action plan for a plant-based food system, Denmark has become the first to impose a tax on the methane produced by livestock. And people wonder why it’s the second-happiest country on Earth.
Working towards the ambitious goal of cutting the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent of their 1990 levels by 2030, the diligent Danes spent five months negotiating with farmers and conservation groups to agree the levy on agricultural emissions. It means that from 2030, farmers must pay 120 Danish krone (£14) for every metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted, rising to 300 krone (£34) from 2035.
The country’s economy minister, Stephanie Lose, hailed the agreement as one “which will form the basis for a historic reorganisation and restructuring of Denmark’s land and food production”. It will also see the government stump up €5.3 billion (£4.5 billion) to reforest 250,000 hectares of agricultural land by 2045, set aside 14,000 hectares of lowland within the next six years and purchase certain farms to cut nitrogen emissions.
The move comes eight years after the Danish Council of Ethics – an independent body that proposes good ideas for politicians to discuss – suggested the best way to curb Danes’ consumption of red meat was to introduce a climate tax on beef, pricing it to more accurately reflect the environmental cost of keeping livestock. It said at the time: “Danes are ethically obligated to change their eating habits.”
Danish export habits will also be forced to change, given the size of its livestock market: the country is the fifth largest meat exporter in the EU this year, and agriculture is set to account for 46 per cent of national emissions by 2030. Experts believe the new tax will cut 1.8 million tons of CO2 equivalent in its first year.
To keep farmers on board as their way of life is retooled for the greener, money raised from the tax will be put into a pot to help the industry transition at least until 2032. “We are writing a new chapter in Danish agricultural history,” said Jacob Jensen, the farming minister.
Danish politicians have already proved themselves willing to put their mouths where their meat free policies are, having made a Meat Free Monday part of life at the Christianborg Palace since 2017. Some politicians also went vegan to highlight the case for eating greener.