How to expand our food and farming sectors against the backdrop of meeting challenging climate targets is a key theme of the CAP document. “Climate change and constraints on natural resources will continue affecting farming and driving food security challenges.”

More specifically, Commissioner Hogan’s proposals want to link environmental measures to farmer payments.

“Any new CAP should reflect higher ambition and focus more on results as regards resource efficiency, environmental care and climate action.”

Essentially, this means that farmers are likely to receive a standard basic payment scheme (BPS) payment for meeting basic environmental standards with extra payments if they opt to do more.

Hogan’s proposal also suggests completely dismantling the entire approach to green measures of the CAP.

“The current green architecture of the CAP, that primarily relies on the complementary implementation of three distinct policy instruments – cross compliance, green direct payments and voluntary agri-environmental along with climate measures, will be replaced and all operations integrated into a more targeted, more ambitious yet flexible approach.”

There is no doubt that climate change and greenhouse emissions will dictate the direction of the new CAP.