Total blue block requires 750 million for green agriculture
In a joint written statement, the five party chairmen state that the aim of the proposal is to secure jobs in the Danish food industry while meeting climate ambitions.
– The government's proposal will cost jobs in the parts of Denmark where it is often difficult to create new ones. That is why we are now playing out with a clear, bourgeois alternative with high, green ambitions, but where we are willing to invest in a green transformation of a sector that is crucial for Denmark, the five party chairmen say in the statement.
The five party chairmen are the Liberal Party's chairman, Jakob Ellemann-Jensen. Chairman of the Danish People's Party, Kristian Thulesen Dahl. The Conservatives' chairman, Søren Pape Poulsen. New Citizens' President, Pernille Vermund and Liberal Alliance Leader Alex Vanopslagh.
The joint proposal can thus be seen as a showdown with the proposal that the government put on the table last week. The government's proposal included, among other things, a binding climate target for agriculture and an increased requirement for CO2 reductions of 7.3 million tonnes by 2030.
Now the blue parties will go to the further negotiations on the basis of their joint proposal. It includes investments of DKK 750 million in the coming years to support the green transition.
Among other things, the money will go to extracting more lowland soil and marginal areas. In other words, the blue parties set out to help the industry through climate change with more of the state's money than the S government proposes.
According to the blue parties, the government's proposal will take out 88,500 hectares of low-lying land and marginal areas, while the blue ones will now finance 100,000 hectares.
The money will be found by the five blue parties, among other things, by reintroducing participant payment for Danish education for foreign students as well as residence requirements for the right to unemployment benefits. The rest is taken from the government's reserve for 2022, which is set aside in the draft Finance Act.
The blue parties justify the need for more money with reference to a statement from the industry's own interest organization Agriculture & Food. They estimate that the government's latest proposal will cost 14,000 jobs.
– It will affect the entire food industry and cost many, many thousands of jobs in the sector. It makes no sense, because we produce some of the world's most climate – efficient foods in Denmark, the five party chairmen say in the joint written statement.