COPENHANGEN: The EU quota system on greenhouse gas emissions dictates that Denmark must reduce emissions by 39% by 2030 in the so-called non-quota sector, i.e. agriculture, transport, and buildings. The agricultural sector is summarized in carbon dioxide equivalents, including gases like methane, perfluorocarbons, and nitrous oxide. The transportation sector includes all types of vehicles. Buildings’ primary emissions are related to heating and producing building materials like concrete.
The report shows the cheapest way to obtain the largest quantitative emission reductions. Reduction costs in agriculture turns out to be relatively low, due to the fact that they are not directly regulated in the first place.
The report suggests that taxes in the agricultural sector be raised dramatically, which some media translated to a “tax on cows.” This is over simplifying things, but it actually does make some sense because passenger cars with internal combustion engines are already heavily taxed (which is also why EVs are slightly taxed to make sure nobody buys them and destroys the tax income from ICE-cars).
