Study on the remuneration of environmental services provided by agriculture
Context
Rethinking the remuneration of environmental services in agriculture
In the agricultural sector, the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) strictly regulate environmental aid. The amounts paid cannot exceed the compensation for additional costs or income losses related to a more virtuous practice (for example, sowing a cover crop that is beneficial for biodiversity).
This principle, applied in the CAP through agri-environmental measures (AEM), means that a farmer is not paid for the value of the environmental service they provide, but only for their additional costs. By limiting aid to simple compensation, the system reduces the incentive to change practices: the effort is reimbursed, but the impact is not truly valued.
This framework also poses problems when it comes to maintaining already virtuous practices (without identifiable additional costs) or supporting activities that are not very profitable but beneficial for the environment.
service
Exploring the margins for evolution within the WTO and the CAP
The study commissioned to Vertigo Lab aimed to analyze how to establish public aid in agriculture that better remunerates the environmental services provided, while respecting international (WTO) and European (CAP) rules.
The goal was to identify the existing leeway in applying the "additional costs and income losses" rule, which currently limits payments to simple compensation. By relying on the analysis of AEM in several European countries, on the evaluation work of ecosystem services, and on international experiences of payments for environmental services, the study identified concrete avenues to improve the remuneration of environmental services in agriculture, specifying their benefits and limitations.
BENEFITS
Proposing operational levers to strengthen the incentive
The study provided operational elements, notably mobilizable for the design and improvement of the agri-environmental and climate measures of the CAP to enhance their incentive character.
The + Vertigo Lab
A cross-disciplinary expertise in ecosystem services economics, international regulatory analysis (WTO/CAP), and the design of incentive mechanisms to evolve agricultural policies.
Have a project? A question? Let's talk!
We offer a no-obligation discussion time to talk about your issues and needs.
Explore other projects
Evaluation des retombées socio-économiques
Étude sur l’économie bleue en Guyane
Evaluation of ecosystem services
Evaluation of ecosystem services of the Dordogne River
Evaluation des retombées socio-économiques
