A EU-turn on soil health

Welcome back to The Strawman, the daily climate newsletter that’s like the friend you trust to be the airport dad - we got your passports and you know we’re not gonna lose them.

Today we’re looking at the stuff of life - soil. For those of you that haven’t left your parents basements in the last 4 years, that’s the stuff under the green stuff you should probably go touch.

Let’s dive in.

Seeds of discomfort

Soil - it’s important stuff. The EU has had laws governing air and water quality for a long time; but nothing for soil.

With estimates showing that 60-70% of EU land is unhealthy, the soil issue is a serious one. Unhealthy soils bring risks of droughts, wildfires, and food insecurity - talk about a triple-threat.

With a shrinking amount of arable land due to degradation, it's clear that soil health is becoming more and more important…

Getting your hands dirty

The annual cost of tackling contaminated soils could hit nearly €2bn. The overall bill for soil restoration policies could stretch from €28bn to €38bn each year - the math doesn’t add up, until you include the economic benefits of better soil; the economic benefits are expected to be double the cost.

In a surprising turn of events, the people pushing hardest for these targets were NGOs like the WWF (as to be expected) and Nestlé and Unilever.

It makes sense though - better soils should lead to better profits. The decision not to set hard targets has been seen by some as indicative of the EU's recent reluctance to push ahead on the tough parts of its green agenda.

It’s not the first time either; an effort by Brussels to protect soils in 2010 was blocked due to strong opposition from member states like Germany and France.

The issues are more political than about the actual ideas. The more unified regulation is across the EU, the less freedom it gives member states; sounds like this could all be solved with getting the relevant people in a room. Hunger games style.

Now you know why The Strawman isn’t a politician I guess…

See you tomorrow,

The Strawman