Danish livestock farmers have been warned that they will be taxed on measuring the farts and burps of their cows, sheep and pigs from 2030, making Denmark the first country in the world to do so as it tries to reduce methane emissions.
AP Reports Tax Minister Jeppe Bruus said the aim is to reduce Denmark’s greenhouse gas emissions by 70% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, bringing about a wind of change in the agricultural industry in particular.
By 2030, Danish livestock farmers will face a punitive tax of 300 kroner ($43) per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent.
FILE/Denmark plans to impose a punitive tax on farm and livestock carbon emissions from 2030, claiming to be the first country to do so in a move to measure emissions from every grazing animal. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
The tax will increase to 750 kroner ($108) by 2035. But because of a 60 percent income tax credit, the actual cost per ton will start at 120 kroner ($17.30), rising to 300 kroner by 2035.
“This will bring us a lot closer to being climate neutral in 2045,” Bruce said, adding that Denmark “will be the first country in the world to introduce a substantial carbon tax on agriculture,” and that he hoped other countries would follow suit.
New Zealand has passed a similar law that is due to come into effect in 2025, in what critics see as a punitive new tax on farmers.
But the law was repealed following heavy criticism from farmers and the 2023 election that saw a change in government from former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s far-left party to a centre-right one, Breitbart News reported.
New Zealand scraps left-wing plan to tax cow burps and fartshttps://t.co/t5k2j6V0Jj
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 11, 2024
New Zealand has announced that it will now exclude agriculture from its emissions trading scheme as it explores other ways to reduce methane.
Denmark has not provided any specifics about how the measurements of individual animal farts and burps will be taken.
