In June, Denmark became the world’s first country to enact a carbon tax by charging farmers $100 per head of cattle they managed, among other fees, in a bid to meet arbitrary climate emission reduction goals by 2030, including plans to turn farmland into forestry.
Those tax laws have since been officially ratified by the Danish Parliament in November, as part of a much broader push to prioritize plant-based diets in the country.
The WinePress reported in June:
With the agreement, the parties agreed that a CO2 tax must be introduced on emissions from livestock.
A fee of DKK 300 ($43) per ton CO2 in 2030 increasing to DKK 750 ($107) per tonnes of CO2e in 2035 with a floor deduction of 60%.
The effective tax will thus amount to DKK 120 ($17) per ton CO2 in 2030 increasing to DKK 300 ($43) per tonnes of CO2 in 2035.
In addition, just over 30 billion krones ($4,299,780,000) for the withdrawal of a total of approximately 140.00 hectares (ha) carbon-rich lowland soils including marginal areas and the establishment of 250,000 ha of forest.
In addition, a subsidy scheme of a total of just over DKK 10 billion ($1,433,260,000) is being set up. DKK until 2045 for the storage of biochar produced by pyrolysis.
CNN reports: ‘On average, Danish dairy cows, which account for much of the cattle population, emit 5.6 tonnes of CO2-equivalent per year, according to Concito, a green think tank in Denmark. Using the lower tax rate of 120 krone results in a charge of 672 krone per cow, or $96. With the tax break in place, that levy will rise to 1,680 krone per cow in 2035 ($241).’
The tax ministry also notes plans to remove ‘140,000 hectares of carbonaceous low floor land including peripheral areas.’
According to Statistics Denmark, there were 15,331 farms with livestock in 2023, nearly 50% the number of farms in 2006, when there were 29,083. There were 8,972 farms containing cattle in Denmark, and 2,131 contained pigs.
In November, vegan website Green Queen provided details on the official adoption of these taxes and new national policies:
Denmark’s bid to tax livestock farmers and turn farmland into forest has received a broad majority in the parliament, paving the way for a greener agriculture sector.
Following negotiations between the country’s major parties, farmers, trade unions, and climate groups, Denmark will channel 43 billion Danish kroner ($6.1B) to buy land from farmers and convert it into forests, with a plan to plant a billion trees on agricultural land in the next two decades.
Agriculture is Denmark’s largest source of emissions, contributing to over 22% of its climate footprint. And if left unabated, the sector will account for 46% of its emissions by the end of the decade – this is why addressing agriculture is key for the country to meet its legally binding target of cutting emissions by 70% by 2030 (from a 1990 benchmark).
This is why the Green Tripartite was formed. Under the agreed deal between the government, farm industry and climate groups, Denmark is aiming to curb nitrogen pollution, which has damaged its coasts and fjords, where oxygen levels have reached alarmingly low levels due to nutrient runoff from fertilisers. The country isn’t on track to meet the targets set by the Water Framework Directive by 2027.
The green deal will give farmers with large quantities of peatland or nitrogen-leaching areas an incentive to turn from intensive land use towards afforestation, efforts that would be supported by the Green Land Fund. This will funnel 30 billion kroner ($4.3B) into reforesting 250,000 hectares of farmland by 2045 and extracting 140,000 hectares of lowland by 2030 to make at least 20% of Denmark’s nature protected.
Currently, around 60% of Denmark’s area is cultivated, making it the country with the joint-highest share of arable land (alongside Bangladesh).
“Danish nature will change in a way we have not seen since the wetlands were drained in 1864,” said Jeppe Bruus, the minister for the green transition, as quoted by AFP. He stated that a “huge, huge task” was underway now, involving the transformation of “large parts of our land from agricultural production to forestry, to natural spaces, to ensure that we can bring life back to our fjords”.
One of the other major tenets of the green deal is the agriculture tax, which made up the bulk of the headlines in June. Denmark is the first country to take such a stand against the impact of livestock agriculture on the planet. The move couldn’t have come more quickly: it is a major exporter of pork and dairy, and beef consumption alone equates to 45% of its emission reduction targets.
But Denmark isn’t just stopping at addressing livestock – it’s actively pushing for a transition to a plant-based food system, for which it rolled out a national action plan last year. This was part of the 2021 green agriculture plan, which set aside 675 million kroner ($96M) for the creation of a Fund for Plant-Based Foods (Plantefonden).
During the negotiation of the green deal, the Green Left and Danish Social Liberal Party advocated for the plant-based transition to be a long-term priority, according to the Vegetarian Society of Denmark. The lawmakers have agreed to add 420 million kroner ($60M) to the Plantefonden between 2025 and 2030. But the fund is now permanent (it was previously set to end in 2030), and can see the investment value jump to one billion kroner ($142M).
An additional 15 million kroner ($2M) has also been allocated to other plant-based initiatives, with specific details to be agreed upon by the negotiators. Further, Denmark has committed to advocating for an EU-wide plant-based action plan, something even farmers have been calling for.
“What we hear from scientists and NGOs in other countries – and at this year’s climate summit – is that it is of tremendous importance for Denmark to continue prioritising plant-based solutions and to take responsibility for advancing this agenda internationally,” said Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl, the head of the Vegetarian Society of Denmark.
“Therefore, we are particularly pleased to see that the Danish government is now committed to advocating for this at the EU level. The timing is perfect, as Denmark holds the EU presidency next fall,” he added.
“There is still much work ahead, and we have not yet crossed the finish line. Agriculture must and will transition, and now there is clarity on direction and investments,” remarked climate and energy minister Lars Aagaard. “This is green action that works. The agreement is a milestone, deeply rooted both in Parliament and among stakeholders and organisations. This is Denmark at its best.”
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
For the most part, all is going according to plan. What do I mean? Well, look back at a detailed report I wrote earlier this year: Hunger Games: World Bank And Cargill Simulated Food Crisis That Starts In 2020 During Pandemic, Predicts Carbon And Meat Taxes In 2024
In 2015, the World Bank, Cargill, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), along with the Center for American Progress (CAP) and Mars Inc., including a number of NGOs, stakeholders, think tanks and experts, came together to conduct the “Food Chain Reaction” that simulated food and climate crises starting in 2020 and into 2030. This simulation has basically been scrubbed from online but I was able to do a lot of digging into the plans. I encourage you to read it for yourself (I put some time into that report), but it eerily spells out events that are panning out to be “coincidences,” such as the collapse and funding of Ukraine in 2023 and 2024, and the E.U. and U.S. implementing meat and carbon taxes in 2024 – which is what is happening right now, on top of all of the bird flu nonsense we keep hearing about. SEE: It Begins: California Declares Emergency Over Rise In Bird Flu Cases, USDA Announces New Testing For Raw Milk Amidst Imminent Pandemic Fears
Prior to the start of 2024, a report published by the United Nations in the leadup to COP28, they insinuated that by 2050 half of the world’s meat production needs to be cut in half, and to adopt a plant-based diet and consume lab-grown meats instead. During COP28, 159 nations signed a pact that stated, “By 2025 we intend to strengthen our respective and shared efforts […] We affirm that agriculture and food systems must urgently adapt and transform in order to respond to the imperatives of climate change,” the declaration at COP28 reads. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also dropped in with a video message, stating: “Our food systems are harming the health of people and the planet. Food systems contribute to over 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, and account for almost one-third of the global burden of disease. Transforming food systems is therefore essential by shifting for this healthier, diversified and more plant-based diets.”
Moreover, during COP28, Kristalina Georgieva, the head managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group – which had an integral part in the Food Chain Reaction game – urged world governments to implement a carbon tax. The IMF head said during the forum:
We are a huge proponent of carbon price. We believe that carbon price has the potential of raising revenues in a way that is both equitable because the more you consume, the more you pollute, the more you pay. It is also an incentive to accelerate decarbonization. In other words, you would need less money because of consumption and production adapting to it.
Georgieva explained, which mirrors what the Food Chain Reaction simulation suggested, following an identical time line.
1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; [2] Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; [3] Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
As we head into 2025, a lot of developed nations are increasingly sick and tired of all this globalism and hyper-progressivism that has completely destroyed their countries, jobs, families and personal lives. So, the overt progressive spin is not going to be as successful, I think at least, so new reasons will need to be created. As I just noted a moment ago, something such as a “bird flu plandemic” may prove to be one of the ones ‘they’ can get the masses to stop eating meat, and claim plenty of lives in the process…
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
The WinePress needs your support! If God has laid it on your heart to want to contribute, please prayerfully consider donating to this ministry. If you cannot gift a monetary donation, then please donate your fervent prayers to keep this ministry going! Thank you and may God bless you.
Marcellus: Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
Horatio: Heaven will direct it.
Marcellus: Nay, let’s follow him.