BRUSSELS — Europe’s multibillion-euro attempt to green its farming is turning into an exercise in creative accounting rather than genuine environmental progress, according to a new report by BirdLife Europe and the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union.
Under the European Union’s overhauled Common Agricultural Policy, “eco-schemes” were hailed as a game changer for sustainable agriculture. But instead of delivering meaningful change, the report’s findings suggest that up to a quarter of the CAP’s direct payment budget — €48.5 billion — may be tied to measures that often preserve business as usual.
“If we are serious about having long-term food security, eco-schemes need to do what they were meant to — not just provide farmers with a green-labeled income boost,” said Tatiana Nemcová, EU agriculture coordinator at BirdLife Europe.
Farming accounts for around 10 percent of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions and significantly harms soils, waterways and biodiversity.
