Agriculture - Federal Environment Agency in favor of abolishing the agricultural diesel subsidy
The Federal Environment Agency believes it is right that farmers should no longer receive preferential treatment for diesel in future. "We must no longer incentivize farmers in the wrong direction," said the president of the agency, Dirk Messner, to Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). "It is therefore right to abolish the agricultural diesel subsidy."
The use of fossil fuels should not be favored, Messner said. However, he recommended making concessions to farmers in other areas. "For example, farms can be supported in their climate transformation if they invest in other forms of agricultural land management."
The German government wants to cut tax breaks for farmers on agricultural diesel and vehicle tax in order to plug holes in the budget. Farmers have been demonstrating against the plans for days, sometimes causing traffic disruptions. According to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Agriculture Minister Till Backhaus on Friday evening, the heads of department of the federal states unanimously spoke out against the planned burdens for farmers in a video conference.
The Federal Environment Agency has long been calling for climate-damaging subsidies to be reduced, such as no longer giving tax breaks for private driving in company cars. Messner called for taxes on diesel to be as high as those on petrol. "That alone would raise up to eight billion euros and have a steering effect."
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- The Federal Environment Agency's president, Dirk Messner, advocated for the elimination of subsidies for agricultural diesel during a discussion with the Editorial Network Germany in Berlin.
- In response to the Federal Environment Agency's stance, Saxony-Anhalt's Agriculture Minister, Till Backhaus, expressed opposition to the planned financial burdens for farmers during a video conference with the heads of departments of the federal states.
- Dirk Messner also suggested that the German government could provide financial support to farms if they invest in other forms of sustainable agricultural land management.
- Messner argued that the government should consider increasing taxes on diesel to the same level as those on petrol to generate more revenue and encourage a shift away from fossil fuels.
- The Agency has been consistently advocating for the reduction of climate-damaging subsidies, including the elimination of tax breaks for private driving in company cars.
- The agricultural diesel subsidy has been a contentious issue in Germany, with farmers protesting against the government's plans to cut the tax breaks, causing traffic disruptions in some parts of the country.
Source: www.stern.de
