Gases from the greenhouse

Reducing agriculture emissions is a big part of climate action and the wider energy transition. ‘Greenhouse gases’ may well be a term straight out of the farmyard but the sector is struggling to rid itself of those polluting emissions, despite attempts to clean up farming. Unlike power generation and transport, where much of the progress will be made simply by electrifying as much as possible and making sure there is enough renewable energy to fuel everything, agriculture has many more complex issues to contend with. Replacing one pollution-generating process often means a trade-off with other environmental concerns, meaning farmers are often damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Add in factors like slim margins, inflation and cultural concerns and you realise the difficulty of the task ahead. But improvements have been made and policies are being implemented to reduce farming’s climate impact. Progress may be slow but as initiatives like Europe’s Green Deal dig ever deeper footholds in how society goes about its business, focus is gradually shifting to the farmyard.Expert journalist Gerardo Fortuna, who has spent years covering the EU’s attempts to regulate agriculture and co-hosts a weekly podcast on the farm and food sector, joins Sam for a chat about where farming fits into the energy transition puzzle. Topics include the Ukraine war, a shift in who wields political power in agriculture and how policies like the ETS and CBAM will affect farming’s future.Enjoy the dispatch!If you have any thoughts or questions about anything that has been discussed in this week’s episode, you can reach us at our Twitter accounts:Gerardo Fortuna: https://twitter.com/gerardofortunaSam Morgan: https://twitter.com/SamJamesMorgan@Policy Dispatch: https://twitter.com/PolicyDispatchFORESIGHT Climate & Energy: https://twitter.com/FORESIGHTdkListen and subscribe to Policy Dispatch wherever you get podcasts. Follow us on Twitter at @Policy Dispatch or email us at [email protected]. You can also find FORESIGHT Climate & Energy on LinkedIn.Show notes:FORESIGHT Policy Section: https://foresightdk.com/category/policy/TRY FULL ACCESS TO FORESIGHT CLIMATE & ENERGY FOR €1 A DAYJoin over 100,000 policymakers, energy experts in business, finance, and academia, city leaders, and leading NGOs in having access to FORESIGHT Climate & EnergyGET YOUR 30-DAY TRIAL: www.foresightdk.com/subscribe/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.