Denmark's Parliament passed an agreement known as the Green Tripartite, which starting in 2030 will tax farmers "300 Danish kroner (around $43)" for every ton of carbon dioxide equivalent that their operations produce.
It goes on to raise those stakes, charging "750 kroner ($106)" for every ton of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2035, the New York Times reported. The measure to tax farmers for methane produced by their cows is a world's first for this type of tax.
According to the government's green transition minister, Jeppe Bruus, farmers should buy certain feed additives to reduce the number of cow burps or farts. By doing so, they can then receive a rebate on this tax.
The Danish Parliament is made up of the Socialist People's Party, the Liberal Alliance, the Conservative Party, and the Danish Social Liberty Party, which calls itself the Radical Left.
"A tax on pollution has the aim to change behavior," Bruus said.
Already in the United States, there is a technology that claims to track how much a cow burps.
One of the largest investors curbing the amount of cow burps includes Bill Gates. CNN reported last year that Gates invested in an Australian start-up known as Rumin8, which focuses on adding seaweed to cow feed to reduce the amount of farts and burps.
But while some claim that such technologies are good for the environment, in the run-up to the legislation, Denmark's farm lobby "vigorously opposed" such a position on taxing farmers, according to the Times.
Still, some large Danish farming corporations have come out in support of the measure. Company officials at Arla Foods, Denmark's largest dairy cooperative, said they're on board with the tax because it's something farmers can tolerate.
"They understand they need to do it; they want to do it," Peder Tuborgh, Arla's CEO, said. "They know it is protecting their reputation, and they're still producing."
Nick Koutsobinas ✉
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
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