– It is deeply disappointing when we agree that the climate is high on the agenda, that the blue bloc comes up with a proposal without a binding goal. It is deeply unambitious, he says.
Negotiations on a climate plan for agriculture have been going on since last year. Over 60 meetings and strings of technical reviews have been held.
The government has announced that it wants a broad agreement. But the parties are far apart. For the blue bloc, it is crucial that agriculture receives more support from the state to implement the green transition and that requirements do not cost jobs.
Therefore, blue block initiatives are also based more on volunteering and remedying emissions than on strict requirements.
However, the government’s understanding paper – the agreement with the support parties that made Mette Frederiksen prime minister – states as a condition that a climate agreement is made with agriculture with binding goals.
– We have assumed that there must be a binding target for agriculture. It is stated in our compromise text, and that is what we set out to do when we started the negotiations.
– That’s our starting point. And I also expect that blue block will live up to, says Rasmus Prehn and continues:
– I have also understood in the negotiations that some parties in the blue bloc will have a binding goal. But they have not been able to agree on that.
The minister says he is continuing negotiations with the blue bloc, even though he believes some of the blue bloc’s demands are “junk”.
With Friday’s proposal from the blue bloc, the minister believes that it will be difficult to close a broad agreement in the short term.
– We want this completed as soon as possible. But when the blue bloc first comes up with their proposal after 62 meetings, it slows down the process.
– We want a quick deal. But it requires everyone to be able to compromise instead of waging trench warfare, the minister said.
Asked whether he would put a fiver on an agreement being closed this year, Rasmus Prehn says:
– Now I’m not betting. But it is clear that this looks very troublesome, this. However, I was born an optimist.
– I have said that it would be nice to have an agreement before the opening of the Folketing. But it has difficult prospects when one uses force to inflict more inconvenience instead of bending towards one another.