Farmers drive tractors in front of government office, where they dumped manure, during a protest against European Union agricultural policies, grievances shared by farmers across Europe, in Prague, Czech Republic, March 7, 2024. REUTERS/Eva Korinkova

Europe’s restless farmers are forcing policymakers to act

Polls suggest the general population is on farmers' side; farmers lynchpins of rural economies say leaders

European policymakers have scaled back rules to protect nature, drawn up limits on the import of tariff-free Ukrainian grains and scrapped new legislation limiting pesticide use as farmers' protests resonate with voters ahead of elections.



French farmers drive their tractors on a highway as they protest over price pressures, taxes and green regulation, grievances shared by farmers across Europe, in Longvilliers, near Paris, France, January 29, 2024. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

EU recommends ambitious 2040 climate target, goes light on farming

In face of farmer protests, EU weakens some recommendations related to agriculture

The European Commission recommended on Tuesday that the EU slash net greenhouse gas emissions by 90 per cent by 2040, an ambitious target that will test political appetite for the region's fight against climate change ahead of EU elections.

Sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in degrees Celsius over the tropical Pacific Ocean for the week centred on April 12, 2023. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

World could face record temperatures in 2023 as El Nino returns

New record highs 'more likely than not'

Brussels | Reuters — The world could breach a new average temperature record in 2023 or 2024, fuelled by climate change and the anticipated return of the El Nino weather phenomenon, climate scientists say. Climate models suggest that after three years of the La Nina weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean, which generally lowers global […] Read more


A drone photo from the Sampona commune of Madagascar on Feb. 11, 2022, shows Zebu cattle drinking water from a large puddle created from Cyclone Batsirai. The island nation’s south has been experiencing severe drought for the past four years, putting it in danger of what the World Food Programme calls “the world’s first climate change famine.” (Photo: Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis)

Last year tied as world’s fifth-warmest on record, U.S. scientists say

Global CO2 emissions continue to rise

Brussels | Reuters — Last year was the world’s joint fifth-warmest on record and the last nine years were the nine warmest since pre-industrial times, putting the 2015 Paris Agreement’s goal to limit global warming to 1.5 C in serious jeopardy, U.S. scientists said on Thursday. Last year tied with 2015 as the fifth-warmest year […] Read more

EU flags in front of the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. (Jorisvo/iStock/Getty Images)

EU parliament committee approves farm subsidy reforms

Brussels | Reuters — The European Parliament’s agriculture committee on Thursday approved a deal to overhaul the European Union’s huge farming subsidies, including new measures aimed at making agriculture greener. The committee approved three pieces of legislation, which from 2023 will govern spending from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) — a scheme that will […] Read more