Brussels has scrapped a recommended target for cutting agricultural greenhouse gas emissions as EU governments seek to quell protests from farmers against the bloc’s ambitious green agenda.
A road map on how to cut emissions by 90 per cent by 2040, due to be published by the European Commission on Tuesday, no longer includes a reference to a 30 per cent reduction target in methane, nitrogen and other gases linked to farming, three EU officials involved in the discussions told the Financial Times.
The move follows widespread demonstrations by farmers in France, Germany, Belgium and, most recently, Italy involving roadblocks, statues being torn down and riot police being deployed. Resistance to Brussels’ environmental rules has been fuelled by a perception that urban policymakers are ignoring rural areas — a sentiment on which the far-right has sought to capitalise in the run-up to elections for the European parliament in June.