Half of the European funds spent to fight climate change went into ineffective measures

As part of the Common Agricultural Policy, the European Union spent 100 billion Euros to combat climate change between 2014 and 2020. But these funds, which make up half of the entire EU budget earmarked for the fight against climate change, have not led to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Published On: July 6th, 2021
Half of the European funds spent to fight climate change went into ineffective measures_62cca3fa46303.jpeg
Half of the European funds spent to fight climate change went into ineffective measures_62cca3fa46303.jpeg

Half of the European funds spent to fight climate change went into ineffective measures

As part of the Common Agricultural Policy, the European Union spent 100 billion Euros to combat climate change between 2014 and 2020. But these funds, which make up half of the entire EU budget earmarked for the fight against climate change, have not led to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

The Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union spends almost 40% of the EU budget . Between 2014 and 2020, out of the total of €1.1 trillion spent by the EU, more than 400 billion  went into supporting European farmers and agriculture. The major ambitions of the CAP  can be summarised in a few simple points: to support farmers and agriculture (which is inherently a precarious sector with fluctuating prices and wobbly production processes), to improve agricultural productivity, and to ensure a stable supply of affordable food while allowing European farmers to maintain a decent lifestyle. All this, while also safeguarding the environment.

The EU imposes certain conditions on the distribution of subsidies, such as “cross-compliance ” and “greening ”, which seek to encourage good practices in respect of the environment, animal welfare and product quality. Some of them consist, for example, in the protection of the most environmentally sensitive lands, the reduction of fertilizer use, afforestation, and the promotion of organic farming.

Given the amount of money allocated to the CAP, the latter is often the subject of controversy, such as that relating to the fact that 80% of funding ends up in the pockets of a mere 20% of farmers. This time, however, the controversy does not concern the amount of money or the way in which