Climate action & effective governance

Whilst some governments are busy denying the need for climate action, the Danish government has achieved a far-reaching landmark agreement to pro-actively reduce greenhouse gases by focusing on agriculture. There cannot be many in Denmark who are not aware of the tripartite green agreement, den grønne trepartsaftale, in Danish. However, apart from a vague idea that it involves agriculture and getting farmers to reduce their CO2 emissions, I doubt that many have a clear idea of what it involves. I do know that it has not all been plain sailing and a proposed charge on the CO2 emitted by farmers has been hotly contested. I also know that the green agreement involves much more than just the restoration of low lying land which is the immediate focus of our local area.

To find out more I attended a local town hall to learn more about what the tripartite green agreement (TGA) is and how it is playing out locally. (Link to the meeting presentation in Danish). I came out very inspired and impressed. Here’s why:

A sense of effective urgency

The TGA was agreed by the Danish government in June 2024 with an implementation plan, including funding, agreed in November 2024 and already every single administrative area in the country will draw up plans to implement it. At my townhall they were able to showcase a project that is up and running.

Clear goals

The national goals for CO2 reduction in Denmark have been divided up amongst 23 regions and each region has clear CO2 goals to meet. In the case of my local area, this is 108 tons of CO2 kept in the ground through changed agricultural practices by 2030.

Wide-ranging collaboration

The agreement is called tripartite because it will be implemented through joint action by government, industry and NGOs. In practice this means local and national government and relevant ministries, the agro food industry and farmers’ organisations and various hunting and nature organisations. The town hall included over ten people on the stage, each representing different sectors of the agreement. Historically, the more parties you involve, the more the process slows down, but in this case, the sense of urgency does not seem to have been diluted by the large number of disparate stakeholders.

Transparency

This meeting was an example of the transparency with which the TGA is being implemented. All the plans and maps are available for anyone to consult and after a meeting like this, it is likely that more people will be motivated to take a look. The meeting was so well attended that they had to send an email out explaining additional car parking possibilities.

Goodwill

The meeting included one example of a nearby valley where the local farmers have agreed to cease farming. The project was initiated by one of the local farmers, Niels Hougård, who was able to persuade his neighbours to join in so that a meaningful connected area of land could revert to wet meadow. There is compensation available for farmers, either financial or in land allocation elsewhere if they want to continue farming. Once Hougård had approached the Danish Nature Agency, they worked with him to get his neighbours on board and facilitate all the paperwork. The farmer, Hougård, emphasised that he needed to have his “Yes” hat on throughout the process, meaning always being willing to think about how to make it happen as a way of overcoming challenges. Both the official agencies involved and Hougård, emphasised the importance of dialogue, preferably face to face, as an important lever for getting things done.

How to reduce CO2 emissions in agriculture

Ploughing as a prelude to sowing crops, releases CO2. Using land for grazing without the need to plough, releases less CO2, and letting land flood releases none. A great deal of Danish farming is reclaimed land so stopping the pumps and blocking the ditches is a viable way of reverting the land back to wet meadow.

In the En-ROADS simulator no-till agriculture is one of the levers that can be pulled to reduce CO2 emissions and until yesterday I had little clear idea of what that meant in practice. The Danish solution is very specific to Denmark and may not be relevant in many other areas in the world, but shows the importance of acting within specific contexts.

Conclusion

I came away from the meeting impressed and inspired as well as much better informed about what the vague concept of preventing CO2 emissions in agriculture could actually mean, literally, on the ground.

I am inspired by the concrete plans to achieve this that seem practical and reasonably funded, and I am impressed by the fast pace of action and goodwill on all sides demonstrated by the meeting.

As with its innovation with wind turbines, this is another example of Denmark being a first mover in the climate arena.

Below, the type of reclaimed agricultural land that will be restored by blocking ditches and turning off pumps to retain the carbon dioxide locked in to the soil.