Dairy farmers in Denmark have to pay the world’s first carbon tax on their livestock, all in the name of a climate crisis that does not exist.
The country’s coalition government agreed this week to introduce the world’s first carbon emissions tax on agriculture. It will mean new levies on livestock starting in 2030.Denmark is a major dairy and pork exporter, and agriculture is the country’s biggest source of emissions. The coalition agreement — which also entails investing 40 billion krone ($3.7 billion) in measures such as reforestation and establishing wetlands — is aimed at helping the country meet its climate goals.“With today’s agreement, we are investing billions in the biggest transformation of the Danish landscape in recent times,” Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in a statement Tuesday. “At the same time, we will be the first country in the world with a (carbon) tax on agriculture.”
The key details of Denmark’s plan include:
Interestingly, New Zealand was heading in this direction as well. But due to a new government that wasn’t completely beholden to climate cultism, it reversed course.
In June this year, the country’s relatively new centre-right government scrapped plans for the so-called “burp tax” – a reference to the methane produced by livestock. This fulfilled a “pre-election pledge by [New Zealand prime minister] Christopher Luxon’s National Party”, Al Jazeera said at the time.The government said it would instead invest hundreds of millions of dollars on emissions-reduction technology and boost funding for an agricultural greenhouse gas research centre.Agriculture minister Todd McClay said that the government is “committed to meeting our climate change obligations without shutting down Kiwi farms”.
This is no small move by Denmark. The country is a significant exporter of dairy products, with a robust dairy industry contributing substantially to its economy. Denmark’s dairy product exports, including eggs and honey, were valued at about $3.9 billion in 2023.
Consequently, an array of unintended consequences are likely to occur that the Danish eco-bureaucrats have not considered.
Farmers will likely pass on the cost of this tax to consumers, increasing general unhappiness with the climate cultists who instituted the tax in the first place.
Some farmers will likely trim their herds, which could lead to job losses in rural areas and increase the costs of dairy products.
Finally, there could be protests and demonstrations along the lines of those we have seen being directed at the European Union earlier this year when it was proposing a slew of new rules directed at agriculture. In fact, this outcome is likely, given how unhappy farmers are at the move.
…Danish farmers’ group Bæredygtigt Landbrug said the measures amounted to a “scary experiment.”“We believe that the agreement is pure bureaucracy,” chairman Peter Kiær said in a statement. “We recognize that there is a climate problem… But we do not believe that this agreement will solve the problems, because it will put a spoke in the wheel of agriculture’s green investments.”
All of this is so unnecessary. Cattle are integral to the biogenic carbon cycle, which involves the recycling of carbon between plants, animals, and the environment.
Perennial forages and grasslands, which form the foundation of the beef cow-calf sector, are critical carbon sinks. They can store up to 30% of the world’s organic carbon. Cattle have a unique ability to convert cellulose-rich plants that humans cannot digest into high-quality protein. This process allows them to utilize marginal lands that are unsuitable for crop cultivation, effectively upcycling human-inedible forages and byproducts.
In turn, people and cows also release carbon world, such as carbon dioxide and methane. Carbon dioxide is an essential gas that plants need to survive.
Arguably, the “experts” and their ill-guided policies will likely adversely impact another finely-tuned cycle of nature.
In conclusion, I think it is time we all give cows the credit they richly deserve.
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