Opportunities and challenges for Common Agricultural Policy reform to support the European Green Deal

• Published in: Conservation biology 2023-06, Vol.37 (3), p.e14052-n/a
• Main Authors: Cuadros‐Casanova, Ivon, Cristiano, Andrea, Biancolini, Dino, Cimatti, Marta, Sessa, Andrea Antonio, Mendez Angarita, Valeria Yeraldin, Dragonetti, Chiara, Pacifici, Michela, Rondinini, Carlo, Di Marco, Moreno
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: agricultura sustentable; Agricultural policy; Agricultural subsidies; Agriculture; Biodiversity; biodiversity conservation; cambio climático; Climate action; Climate change; Climate change mitigation; Common Agricultural Policy; conservación de la biodiversidad; Conservation of Natural Resources; Ecosystem; Ecosystem services; Emissions; Environmental management; Environmental objective; Environmental performance; environmental policy; estrategia de la granja a la mesa; European Green Deal; farm to fork strategy; food production; Legislation; Mitigation; Natural resource management; Natural resources; Pacto Verde Europeo; Policies; Policy; Policy reform; política ambiental; producción alimentaria; Subsidies; Sustainability; Sustainability management; sustainable agriculture; Sustainable consumption; Sustainable development; Sustainable practices; Sustainable production; 共同农业政策; 农场到餐桌战略; 可持续农业; 欧洲绿色协议; 气候变化; 环境政策; 生物多样性保护; 粮食生产
• ISSN: 0888-8892; 1523-1739
• DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14052

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the European Union's main instrument for agricultural planning, with a new reform approved for 2023–2027. The CAP intends to align with the European Green Deal (EGD), a set of policy initiatives underpinning sustainable development and climate neutrality in the European Union (EU), but several flaws cast doubts about the compatibility of the objectives of these 2 policies. We reviewed recent literature on the potential of CAP environmental objectives for integration with the EGD: protection of biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and sustainable management of natural resources. The CAP lacks appropriate planning measures, furthering instead risks to biodiversity and ecosystem services driven by landscape and biotic homogenization. Funding allocation mechanisms are not tailored to mitigate agricultural emissions, decreasing the efficiency of climate mitigation actions. The legislation subsidies farmers making extensive use of synthetic inputs without adequately supporting organic production, hindering the transition toward sustainable practices. We recommend proper control mechanisms be introduced in CAP Strategic Plans from each member state to ensure the EU is set on a sustainable production and consumption path. These include proportional assignment of funds to each CAP objective, quantitative targets to set goals and evidence‐based interventions, and relevant indicators to facilitate effective monitoring of environmental performance. Both the CAP and the EGD should maintain ambitious environmental commitments in the face of crisis to avoid further degradation of the natural resources on which production systems stand. Oportunidades y retos para la reforma a la Política Agrícola Común que respalden el Pacto Verde Europeo Resumen La Política Agrícola Común (PAC) es el principal instrumento de planificación agraria de la Unión Europea, con una nueva reforma aprobada para 2023–2027. La PAC pretende alinearse con el Pacto Verde Europeo (PVE), un conjunto de iniciativas políticas que apuntan al desarrollo sostenible y la neutralidad climática en la UE, aunque varias fallas han arrojado dudas sobre la compatibilidad de los objetivos de estas dos políticas. Revisamos la bibliografía reciente sobre el potencial de integración de los objetivos medioambientales de la PAC con el PVE en tres categorías: protección de la biodiversidad; mitigación del cambio climático y adaptación al mismo y, gestión sostenibl