Leading the Way? Denmark’s Approach to Reforming Food and Farming Policy
22 April @ 13:00 – 14:00
Join us to find out about Denmark’s groundbreaking agricultural deal that was set up to address some of the major societal challenges facing the agriculture, forestry and food sectors.
In 2024, Denmark agreed on a groundbreaking agricultural deal to address some of the major societal challenges facing the agriculture, forestry and food sectors. These include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, afforestation, peatland restoration, reductions in nutrient runoff, and creating more space for nature, alongside significant investment in promoting healthy and sustainable food. The agreement was developed through a tripartite process, bringing together farmers, civil society, unions, industry, and local and national governments.
What can other countries learn from Denmark’s approach? What was it about the tripartite process that made such ambitious policy possible, and what were the trade-offs along the way? And in the context of our own efforts to build a more resilient and sustainable food system, what is and isn’t transferable to the UK? Join us to learn more about what is happening in Denmark and to ask questions. Simone Højte (CONCITO) will present the key elements of the agreement, with David Baldock (IEEP) helping to draw out the implications for the UK.
This is the third in AFN’s webinar series on food system resilience. Our first session asked what climate change could cost the food supply chain. Our second turned to the bigger picture, looking at how those risks combine with existing vulnerabilities and what that could mean for policy, investment and preparedness. Now we look beyond the UK to ask what bold, systemic policy reform might actually look like in practice, and what we might learn from a country that is getting on with it.
About Simone:
Simone Højte is a Senior Consultant in the Food Division at CONCITO, Denmark’s leading green think tank. Her work focuses on sustainable food systems and climate policy, with particular expertise in aligning food and farming with Danish, EU and global sustainability goals. She has been closely involved in analysing the Green Tripartite Agreement and Denmark’s approach to reducing agricultural emissions, and brings extensive experience engaging with EU policy processes on agri-food system transformation.
About David (discussant):
David Baldock is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), where he has worked since the mid-1980s, serving as Director from 1998. His background is in philosophy and economics, and he is a long-standing authority on European agricultural policy and the environment. He has written extensively on UK farming policy since Brexit and the environmental dimensions of agricultural transition, making him well placed to help translate the Danish experience for a UK audience.
About Neil (Chair):
Neil Ward is a co-lead of the AFN Network+ and Professor of Rural and Regional Development at the University of East Anglia (UEA). He is a human geographer specialising in agrifood and rural development. He was UEA’s Deputy Vice Chancellor (2014-21) and Director of Newcastle University’s Centre for Rural Economy (2004-08). He’s served as a Cabinet Office advisor on agricultural policy and has appeared before numerous parliamentary select committees. Neil is author of Net Zero, Food and Farming: Climate Change and the UK Agri-Food System (Routledge, 2023).