Danish farmers face livestock 'flatulence tax' in bid to cut emissions

• Livestock contributes around 14.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions globally

Denmark will tax farmers for the greenhouse gases emitted by livestock in a world first 'flatulence tax' from 2030 in a radical bid to tackle methane emissions.

Emissions from cows, sheep and pigs will be taxed through the law with hopes of slashing emissions by 70 per cent from 1990 levels by 2030, Taxation Minister Jeppe Bruus said.

'We will take a big step closer in becoming climate neutral in 2045,' he said, adding Denmark 'will be the first country in the world to introduce a real CO2 tax on agriculture' and hoped other countries would follow suit.

Methane traps about 87 times more heat than carbon dioxide on a 20-year timescale, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with livestock responsible for about 14.5 per cent of the world's greenhouse emissions.

Of this, about 40 per cent of livestock's warming potential comes from methane - largely driven by belches from animals on particularly fibrous diets.

To tackle the scourge, Danish farmers will be expected to pay 300 kroner (around £35) per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent from 2030, up to 750 kroner (around £85) by 2035 - with cows, on average producing around six metric tonnes per year.

Due to an income tax deduction of 60%, the effective cost per ton will start at 120 kroner (£13.60) and increase to 300 kroner by 2035, amounting to a charge of around £75 per cow up to £190 by 2035.

File photo. Cows in Denmark will be subject to a 'flatulence tax' in a bid to curb emissions

The deal was reached late Monday between the center-right government and representatives of farmers, the industry and unions, among others, and presented Tuesday.

It comes after months of protests by farmers across Europe against climate change mitigation measures and regulations that they say are driving them to bankruptcy.

The Danish Society for Nature Conservation, the largest nature conservation and environmental organization in Denmark, described the tax agreement as 'a historic compromise.'

'We have succeeded in landing a compromise on a CO2 tax, which lays the groundwork for a restructured food industry - also on the other side of 2030,' its head Maria Reumert Gjerding said after the talks in which they took part.

Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen added: 'With today's agreement, we are investing billions in the biggest transformation of the Danish landscape in recent times.

'At the same time, we will be the first country in the world with a (carbon) tax on agriculture.'

The tax is to be approved in the 179-seat Folketing, or parliament, but the bill is expected to pass after the broad-based consensus.

According to Statistic Denmark, there were as of June 30, 2022, 1,484,377 cows in the Scandinavian country, a slight drop compared to the previous year.

Levels of methane, which is emitted from sources including landfills, oil and natural gas systems and livestock, have increased particularly quickly since the pandemic in 2020.

Livestock account for about 32% of human-caused methane emissions, says the U.N. Environment Program.

Attempts to cut emissions have come in the form of improved animal husbandry practices and the introduction of new feed additives - but these are not able to affect emissions at the scale needed to make a significant dent.

Scientists have also looked into breeding low-methane livestock and modifying the methane-causing microbes in the animals' stomachs - though research is still in early stages.

Lars Lokke Rasmussen (pictured earlier this month in New York) said Denmark is investing 'billions' into reducing its emissions output with the tax on agriculture

New Zealand had passed a similar law to Denmark due to take effect in 2025.

However, the legislation was removed from the statute book on Wednesday after hefty criticism from farmers and a change of government at the 2023 election from a center-left ruling bloc to a center-right one.

New Zealand said it would exclude agriculture from its emissions trading scheme in favor of exploring other ways to reduce methane.

Almost all of the methane from raising livestock, some 90%, comes from the way they digest, through fermentation, and is released as burps through their mouths. Cows make up most of this belched methane.

Most of the remaining 10% of livestock methane comes off manure ponds on both pig and cattle operations.

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