EU countries are trying to weaken livestock emission limits – #countries #weaken #livestock #emission #limits
BRUSSELS, March 16 (Reuters) – Europe EU countries agreed on Thursday to cut pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from livestock, despite criticism from some member states. offer agreed to try to reduce the number of farms covered by the regulations.
Livestock emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, in the EU have been almost flat for more than a decade.
To solve the problem, member countries and the European parliament is set to negotiate tougher EU limits for farms and factories on the disposal of waste and other polluting gases such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.
EU law maker Europe Commission last year offer made all cattle, pig and poultry farms with more than 150 livestock units to face restrictions – some 184,000 of Europe’s largest farms.
This is the EU village Livestock, the largest source of methane in the agricultural sector, will be included for the first time and currently 20,000 will increase the number of covered poultry and pig farms.
the European parliament will confirm its position in the negotiations in the coming months.
But on Thursday, EU member states’ environment ministers said cattle and pig farms should only be covered if they have at least 350 livestock units – more than double the Commission’s limit – and 280 livestock units for poultry farms.
Countries including Bulgaria, Germany, Italy and Poland called for fewer farms to be included, saying the Commission’s proposal was unrealistic and burdensome for farmers.
Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands accepted the position but complained about the weakening.
Finland’s Secretary of State for the Environment, Terhi Lehtonen, said that EU countries have “significantly reduced their enthusiasm for the environment and their potential pollutant emissions”.
If the Commission’s proposal is accepted, the new limits will cover farms responsible for around 60% of EU ammonia emissions from livestock and 43% of methane.
Village policies to curb the impact of agriculture on the climate, versus government environmental policies protest in EU countries, including the Netherlands, where the farmers’ party won a landslide victory in state elections on Wednesday. political became a flash point.
Reporting by Kate Abnett; Edited by Barbara Lewis
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2023-03-17 02:21:02
Source – reuters
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