To cool Earth, Europe warms up trust

When the British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said in December at a climate summit that “climate politics is close to [a] breaking point,” he probably didn’t know how close. Within weeks, farmers descended on capitals across Europe – the world’s leader in efforts at decarbonization – largely demanding greater fairness and transparency in policies aimed at agriculture. In many cities, the pitchfork rebellions halted street commerce.

The impact of the protests on European leaders was both swift and startling in showing how to restore climate politics to a healthy state.

On Jan. 25, the European Commission opened its first “strategic dialogue” with the farming and food industry to shape a “shared vision.” Then on Feb. 6, the commission, which is the executive arm of the European Union, reduced the goal of cutting agricultural emissions as well as government subsidies for fossil fuels.

While those latter steps seem like a setback for climate action, they came with a shift in tone that may herald a more effective approach toward slowing global warming. Notably, the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, acknowledged that many farmers “feel pushed into a corner.”

“It is true. Issues have escalated in recent years. Our farmers deserve to be listened to,” she said in a Feb. 1 speech. To avoid a “blame game,” farmers must now be in "the driving seat” on finding climate solutions.

They need, she said, to see profits as they adopt nature-enhancing measures. “Perhaps we have not made that case convincingly,” she added. “We should place more trust in them.”

Then Ms. von der Leyen hit on what can most heal the world’s broken politics over climate: “We need to move beyond a polarised debate and to create trust. Trust is the crucial basis for viable solutions.”

Her humility to listen, to deliberate more widely, and to be held accountable for failed policy may help reset trust in Europe’s progress toward a green future. She said success on climate action requires a bottom-up approach or, as she put it, “a willingness to listen to each other.”

With elections for the European Parliament in June, the commission president hopes that the coming months of political debate on climate will be “an important opportunity to secure public engagement.” She can thank Europe’s farmers for that, just as she thanked them for the hard work of producing “the quality food we eat.”