Towards Fossil Energy Independence in Agriculture: Key Takeaways from AgEnRes Deliverable D1.3

Image by bilanol

 

Agriculture plays a crucial role in Europe’s economy, contributing around 1.3% of the EU’s GDP (EC, 2021). However, it also accounts for approximately 10% of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions (EC, 2023b), with a significant share stemming from fossil fuel use in machinery, transport, and fertilizers. This reliance not only hampers the EU’s climate neutrality goals but also makes the sector vulnerable to price fluctuations, especially in light of geopolitical tensions such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The AgEnRes project seeks to address these challenges by improving energy resilience and reducing fossil fuel dependence in European agriculture. 

 

CAP Indicators: Relevant but Incomplete 

 

The report reviewed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) result indicators related to risk management, farm modernization, renewable energy use, climate investments, sustainable nutrient management, and organic farming. While these indicators are relevant to energy efficiency and emissions reduction, they require refinement to better capture progress toward energy independence. 

Most CAP indicators rely on basic metrics such as the number of farms benefiting from funding, which fail to track long-term trends or policy impact towards energy resilience. Relative indicators—such as the share of utilized agricultural area (UAA) implementing energy-saving measures—would provide more actionable insights. Furthermore, indicators related to knowledge transfer and innovation are often too generic, making it difficult to assess their real impact on energy resilience. 

 

Scientific Literature Review: A Need for Broader Perspectives 

 

A review of 175 unique indicators from 45 studies revealed a strong focus on environmental and economic dimensions, particularly regarding nutrient pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and soil health. However, there is a significant gap in indicators that directly address the peculiarities of energy use and fossil fuel dependence in agriculture. 

Economic indicators often measure farmer income and fertilizer expenditures but lack a clear assessment of energy costs per unit of production. Social and governance indicators are underrepresented or lacking, with limited research on behavioral drivers of adopting energy-saving technologies. 

 

Stakeholder Insights: The Demand for Practical, Multi-Dimensional Indicators 

 

Workshops with policy experts, scientists, and practitioners reinforced the need for indicators that reflect real-world policy impacts at the agri-energy nexus. Stakeholders emphasized the importance of: 

• Environmental Indicators: While robust, these indicators require greater accuracy, particularly for tracking greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen surplus. 

• Economic Indicators: Existing metrics like fertilizer expenditure per hectare offer insights into input costs but lack data on marginal abatement costs—an essential factor for evaluating the economic viability of energy-saving measures. 

• Social Indicators: Measuring farmers' willingness to adopt sustainable practices is useful but insufficient, as willingness does not always translate into action. 

• Governance Indicators: A major gap in both policy and research, stakeholders advocated for indicators that assess transparency, accountability, and administrative burden in energy-related agricultural policies. 

• Mixed Indicators: The combination of environmental, economic, and social dimensions—such as eco-efficiency—was deemed particularly valuable but challenging to interpret due to hidden assumptions and potential biases favoring economic over sustainability considerations. 

 

Moving Forward: Improving Indicators for Energy Resilient Agriculture 

 

Deliverable D1.3 underscores the necessity of a more flexible and comprehensive indicator framework that integrates simple, high-level metrics (e.g., the percentage of farms using renewable energy) with detailed efficiency measurements (e.g., energy cost per unit of product sold). Future work needs to focus on: 

• Refining CAP indicators to make them more specific to energy-saving technologies and knowledge transfer mechanisms. 

• Developing new governance and social indicators to assess policy transparency, administrative burden, and behavioral drivers of innovation adoption. 

• Enhancing mixed indicators to provide a balanced assessment of economic, environmental, and social trade-offs in agricultural energy use. 

 

Conclusion: Bridging Policy and Practice for a Low-Carbon Future 

 

The findings from AgEnRes Deliverable D1.3 highlight the urgent need to adapt existing policy frameworks to better reflect the realities of agricultural energy use and fossil fuel dependence. By addressing gaps in monitoring and evaluation, the project lays the foundation for more effective policy measures that support the transition to an energy-resilient agricultural sector. 

Stay tuned as AgEnRes continues to develop actionable solutions for policymakers, researchers, and farmers striving toward a sustainable, low-carbon agricultural future.