Denmark plans to implement the world’s first tax on agricultural emissions, including those from livestock.
By 2030, farmers will pay 300 kroner ($43) per ton of methane, the BBC reported. By 2030, this will rise to 750 kroner.
The Green Tripartite minister said the country will “do what it takes to reach our climate goals.”
Danish politician Jeppe Bruus said the effort is a “huge, huge task” that will “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.” He added that nature will “change in a way we have not seen since the wetlands were drained in 1864.”
According to The Copenhagen Post, the agreement between the government, agricultural industry, and environmental groups will lead to 250,000 hectares of new forest and 140,000 hectares of peatlands.
The Danish People’s Party (DF) criticized the effort.
“The so-called green tripartite agreement is not green – it is RED like a warning light. Red like the taxes and duties the government imposes on you and your family,” DF party leader Morten Messerschmidt wrote in a translated statement. “And who will be hit the hardest? Everyday Danes who cannot afford Mette Frederiksen’s fancy climate experiments.”
Messerschmidt further stated that the agreement is “harmful to Denmark’s economy and makes it more expensive to be a Dane, but doesn’t help the climate since Denmark’s CO2 emissions are minimal on a global scale.”
Denmark Democrats MP Karina Adsbol also condemned the move, saying “lots of people are going to lose their jobs” as a result of the initiative.
