Open letter: climate action and just transition in agriculture
Posted on December, 11 2024
WWF, together with more than 20 other organisations, sent an open letter to Commissioners Ribera and Hoekstra to ensure that the transition in our food system will happen in a just and fair way while having the climate crisis in mind.
If we do not change our food systems, catastrophic climate change and biodiversity collapse will change them for us. A transition is inevitable, but making it just and sustainable requires action. “The time for change is now”, states the consensus report of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture, acknowledging the massive challenge ahead of us and setting out first steps of a just transition for the sector. Equally, the European Economic and Social Committee recognised the importance of putting in motion a just transition “to ensure a sustainable future for EU agri-food systems.”
To set the EU’s agri-food sector on a just transition pathway, we recommend that they:
- Set a binding and ambitious sectoral gross emission reduction target compatible with the objective of the Paris Agreement and the EU Climate Law to create a pathway for the EU agri-food sector to contribute its share of emission reductions.
- Develop a strategy on the future of animal farming in the EU
- Outline a plan for the recommended Agri-Food Just Transition Fund and consider it in the discussions about the Multiannual Financial Framework.
Livestock animals
© Pexels
Livestock animals
© Pexels