Denmark is making moves that could inspire other countries to transform their farming practices, announcing a plan to return 15% of its farmland back to forests and peatlands, reported Fast Company.
The country will plant one billion trees as part of this transformation, showing how smart policy can help people and the planet.
The plan marks the first major national initiative worldwide to address farming's impact on our warming planet. Denmark has set its sights on slashing planet-warming, heat-trapping gases by 70% before 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Agriculture currently makes up about a quarter of the world's total carbon pollution output.
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The Danish government will pay farmers to convert fields used for animal feed into woodlands. Some areas will return to their natural state as peatlands. A new tax on cattle will encourage farmers to produce meat and milk more efficiently, while redirected farm subsidies will help reduce nitrogen fertilizer use.
Tim Searchinger from Princeton calls it "the first serious plan anyone has agreed to with real money and real teeth to reduce agricultural output," per Fast Company.
The initiative could serve as a blueprint for other nations looking to make similar shifts.
"With Danish politics, when you make political agreements, parties tend to stick to them even across elections," said Torsten Hasforth, chief economist at Concito, a Copenhagen-based environmental research organization, per Fast Company. "There's an ability to have some consistency and do some long-term planning. We've been taking one sector at a time and seeing how we can ensure that sector delivers enough to realize the goal of 70%."
Danish shoppers might notice slightly higher prices for products like milk, which could lead them to choose plant-based alternatives. By returning farmland to its natural state, Denmark shows how countries can make meaningful progress toward a better future for everyone.
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