European implications on national policy: An investigation of how EU climate policy impacts agricultural policy

In later years, the European Union (EU) has positioned itself as a proactive driver in climate policy development, setting increasingly ambitious goals towards 2030 and 2050. The climate rules and framework within the EU places important framework conditions for national governance and industry, as well as challenges and opportunities for the transition into a low-emission society. The climate transition requires unprecedented changes in policy and society, and reducing the impact of agriculture is crucial if international targets are to be met. Through a comparative case study of the agricultural sectors in Denmark and Norway, I investigate how the EU affects national climate policy. Denmark is a member of the EU, part of the Common Agricultural Policy and proactive in European Green Deal policymaking, while Norway has a more ambiguous EU affiliation. Even though Norway is a member of the European Economic Area, part of the single market, and cooperates with the EU on achieving the climate targets from the Paris agreement, Norway does not have the same insight into the policymaking processes at the EU level as Denmark. Furthermore, Norwegian agriculture has been highly debated in memberships debates and shielded from EU influence, but the climate cooperation with the EU and increasingly ambitious emissions objectives makes it difficult to uphold this protection. Thus, the exceptionalist status of the agricultural sector is changing. Specifically, I focus on how the European organizational field affects decision-making processes and the degree of autonomy within the national organizational field. To understand potential differences between the two countries, I investigate the design of climate governance processes. Both countries are wealthy, with well-functioning democracies, professional bureaucracies, and solid climate policy track records. And both countries have adopted ambitious climate objectives on a national, European, and international level, as well as agreements for emissions reductions in agriculture and interest organizations that have presented plans for how to meet these objectives. Through a document analysis and interviews with key actors, I find that Denmark is much more ambitious with climate policy in the agricultural sector than Norway, partly explained through Denmark’s EU membership. Greater explanatory power for this difference, stems from the Norwegian agricultural sectors strong corporatist nature and the role interest organizations have in policymaking. Moreover, the strong post-exceptionalist traditions found within Norwegian agricultural policymaking further explains why the sector has been slow to address and adopt climate policy.