Denmark, known for its inventive restaurants and elegant design studios, is about to become known for something more basic: the world’s first belch and manure tax. That’s because there are five times as many pigs and cows in Denmark as there are people. Nearly two-thirds of its land is taken up by farming. Agriculture is becoming its largest share of climate pollution, putting lawmakers under intense public pressure to reduce it. Now Denmark has agreed to tax the planet-heating methane emissions that all those animals expel through their poop, farts and burps. The measure, which has been under negotiation for years, was passed by the Danish Parliament this month, making it the only such climate levy on livestock in the world. Beginning in 2030, farmers will have to pay a levy of 300 kroner ($43) per ton of methane on emissions from livestock, including cows and pigs, which will rise to 750 kroner ($106) in 2035. Unlike a carbon tax on other sectors, farmers will automatically get a rebate of 60% because there isn’t yet technology to eliminate flatulence entirely.
