Report calls on EU to consider sustainability charge on meat

In early February 2020, the TAPP Coalition, which comprises leading farming, health and environment organisations, will present the European Parliament with a plan to increase the price of meat across the EU to reflect its environmental costs, including CO₂ emissions and biodiversity loss. 

A key aspect of the proposal is that revenues from the sustainability charge, projected at €32.2 billion per year across 28 EU member states by 2030, could be used primarily to help farmers to invest in more sustainable agricultural practices, according to the report. It could also be used to lower VAT and consumer subsidies on vegetables and fruits, which aims to provide financial support for low-income households, and support developing countries to adapt to climate change and protect forests and biodiversity.

“The time has come for us to act decisively with policy on the environmental consequences of animal protein, the price of which has been kept artificially low for far too long. Here we have a solution that is fair for farmers and supports the transition to a more plant-based food system that we so urgently need if we are serious about mitigating climate change,” said Philip Mansbridge, Executive Director (UK) for ProVeg International, one of the TAPP Coalition members.

The scale of potential environmental savings is outlined in the report. Fair meat prices in Europe could lead to a reduction in CO₂-eq. emissions of up to 120 million tonnes of CO₂ per year, according to the report. This is said to equal all CO₂ emissions from four EU member states: Ireland, Denmark, Slovakia and Estonia, and nearly three percent of all EU greenhouse gas emissions. 

“Including the environmental cost of animal protein in the price is a crucial element of meeting EU targets for climate, biodiversity, public health, and animal welfare,” added Pier Vellinga, Climate Professor and TAPP Coalition Chair.

There are also said to be wider benefits of a sustainability charge, as Jeroom Remmers, TAPP Coalition Director, highlighted: “If EU meat consumption reduces and plant-based protein consumption rises, healthcare costs will reduce too, as Europeans eat roughly 50 percent more meat than is recommended in dietary health guidelines. We could also save billions of Euros every year in lower healthcare costs.”

MEPs will debate the proposal at a breakfast event at the European Parliament on 5 February 2020, moderated by the Vice-Chair of the Greens, Bas Eickhout, and co-hosted by Social Democrat MEPs Mohammed Chahim and Sylwia Spurek.