The EU Commission gives the green light to the Danish forest plan for billions

The EU Commission approves that Denmark will provide nearly 4.7 billion kroner in state aid for the establishment of new forests in the coming years leading up to 2030.

This is stated in a press release from the commission.

This means that a central part of the green tripartite agreement from 2024 can be implemented, and that the subsidy scheme for forest establishment can open as planned.

“This is a huge milestone and a very important step towards our goal of planting 250,000 hectares of new forest in Denmark,” says tripartite minister Jeppe Bruus (S) in a written comment.

He believes that this will have a significant impact on climate, nature, and biodiversity.

The scheme allows farmers and landowners to have all expenses covered for establishing new forests. According to the government’s calculations, the support is intended to ensure that around 62,000 hectares of forest will be planted by 2030.

In the long term, the goal is for Denmark to establish a total of 250,000 hectares of new forest by 2045. This is equivalent to an area the size of Lolland, Falster, and Bornholm.

“I am incredibly pleased that we have now received the EU Commission’s approval of our forest scheme. This means that our new subsidy scheme for forest establishment can open as planned in September,” says Jeppe Bruus.

The EU Commission emphasizes in its assessment that the project will reduce CO2 emissions, strengthen biodiversity, decrease nitrogen leaching, and protect drinking water.

Leading Vice President of the EU Commission responsible for competition Teresa Ribera calls the scheme “an important initiative that will help landowners convert agricultural land into forest.”

Although the support has now been approved, it is still uncertain how many farmers will take advantage of the scheme.

The support rate of 75,500 kroner per hectare has been criticized from several quarters for being too low, as the value of agricultural land decreases significantly when converted to forest.

/ritzau/