CAP Strategic Plans – are they likely to deliver on given promises?

The new Common Agricultural Policy has been described by the European Commission as fairer, greener and more flexible. Higher environmental and climate ambition has been promised, and the CAP strategic plans (CSPs), to be implemented from January 2023, are supposed to contribute to the European Green Deal objectives.

This joint policy briefing presents the assessment conducted by the European Environmental Bureau and BirdLife Europe on these CAP strategic plans, which found that the overwhelming majority of national strategic plans fall short of ambitions and lack clear targets, measures and funding to halt biodiversity loss and to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The briefing presents the analysis in a traffic light benchmarking system on each of the criteria assessed, alongside recommendations to the European Commission to ensure that the CAP delivers for climate and nature.