201
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
L. Westra et al. (eds.), Ecological Integrity in Science and Law,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46259-8_17
Agriculture in the European Union: Seven
More Years of Environmental Austerity?
Alicia A. Epstein
Abstract At a time when scientific consensus suggests that urgent and ambitious
action is needed to address the ecological impacts of production agriculture, not
least for realising international climate and environmental objectives, the political
will to address these challenges has become increasingly stifled by several converging factors. In the European context, years of economic austerity has been followed
by dramatic events including the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the
European Union in 2016, as well as the endorsement of nationalist and populist
agendas across a growing number of Member States. Together, these and other
shifts in the geopolitical winds have already had direct implications for the way that
environmental objectives are prioritised and funded under the European Union’s
Common Agricultural Policy. And, as the European Union seeks to conclude the
next round of policy reform (covering the programming period 2021–2027), the
legislative proposals currently being negotiated suggest that ‘environmental austerity’ could continue well into the future. Against this background, this chapter considers the extent to which the Common Agricultural Policy may be expected to
deliver the outcomes necessary to meaningfully address ecological decline and climate change in the European Union during the next seven-year programming cycle.
1 Introduction
Following renewed scientific and societal focus in the late 2000s, the ecological
impacts of the global food system have continuously demanded increased attention
in international debates on food security, environmental protection and climate
change, among others (Willett et al. 2019, Springmann 2018). With regards to landuse, in particular, key insights into the ecological impacts of production agriculture
have been gained from the planetary boundaries framework, which provides a comprehensive account of the effects of human activity upon the Earth system and its
A. A. Epstein (*)
Centre for Law and Administration, Brandenburg Technical University, Cottbus, Germany
e-mail: epstein@b-tu.de
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
L. Westra et al. (eds.), Ecological Integrity in Science and Law,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46259-8_17
Agriculture in the European Union: Seven
More Years of Environmental Austerity?
Alicia A. Epstein
Abstract At a time when scientific consensus suggests that urgent and ambitious
action is needed to address the ecological impacts of production agriculture, not
least for realising international climate and environmental objectives, the political
will to address these challenges has become increasingly stifled by several converging factors. In the European context, years of economic austerity has been followed
by dramatic events including the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the
European Union in 2016, as well as the endorsement of nationalist and populist
agendas across a growing number of Member States. Together, these and other
shifts in the geopolitical winds have already had direct implications for the way that
environmental objectives are prioritised and funded under the European Union’s
Common Agricultural Policy. And, as the European Union seeks to conclude the
next round of policy reform (covering the programming period 2021–2027), the
legislative proposals currently being negotiated suggest that ‘environmental austerity’ could continue well into the future. Against this background, this chapter considers the extent to which the Common Agricultural Policy may be expected to
deliver the outcomes necessary to meaningfully address ecological decline and climate change in the European Union during the next seven-year programming cycle.
1 Introduction
Following renewed scientific and societal focus in the late 2000s, the ecological
impacts of the global food system have continuously demanded increased attention
in international debates on food security, environmental protection and climate
change, among others (Willett et al. 2019, Springmann 2018). With regards to landuse, in particular, key insights into the ecological impacts of production agriculture
have been gained from the planetary boundaries framework, which provides a comprehensive account of the effects of human activity upon the Earth system and its
A. A. Epstein (*)
Centre for Law and Administration, Brandenburg Technical University, Cottbus, Germany
e-mail: epstein@b-tu.de