Speeches

Mr President! In the EU, we are working very ambitiously to have more climate protection in agriculture. The comparison with the rest of the world shows that we are well advanced: While agriculture accounts for about 10% of greenhouse gas emissions here in Europe, global greenhouse gas emissions are close to 20%. At the same time, however, we expect global population growth from seven to ten billion by 2050, all of which have a right to adequate nutrition. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change states that climate protection must not endanger food production. We should take this very much to heart and put agriculture more in the focus of climate diplomacy. We Europeans need to make a stronger contribution to modern and efficient agriculture, especially in the poorer countries. At the same time, however, we also have a duty to maintain our family farms instead of relocating food production to third countries. Otherwise, we are doing a disservice to climate protection.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Bringing food production, climate protection and the protection of the environment into one denominator is a complex challenge. If we want to achieve this goal, we cannot avoid recognizing and managing trade-offs between the different dimensions of sustainability. These trade-offs are inconvenient and have always been hidden. But in order to find feasible solutions, we need a broad and open dialogue. The Farm to Fork Strategy is a good starting point for this, and I think that with this report we have found a broad-based compromise that demonstrates Parliament’s willingness to talk and compromise. I am sure that, building on this, we can make good progress on the announced initiatives. I would like to emphasise two points in this regard once again. Firstly: Farmers are part of the solution – not the cause of the problem. They want to make their contribution to more sustainable food production. However, the social expectations placed on them must also be realistically feasible. Secondly: This is inseparable from the fact that more sustainability must also be worthwhile for farmers across the board as a business model. Farmers must also be able to earn and live with their hands' work. The economic future of our rural regions in Europe also depends on this. We have a duty to provide credible solutions. Security of supply in the EU is not a matter of course and this strategy will lay the foundation for it.