Government wants 50% of farmland to be sustainable by 2030

The Catalan government wants at least 50% of farmland to be sustainable by 2030, as announced by the climate action and agricultural minister, Teresa Jordà, at the COP27 Climate Conference taking place in the Egyptian city of Sharm El Sheikh.

The government's Sustainable Agriculture Production project will "transform" farmland in a sustainable, social, and financial way.

"We want to accompany farmers toward global sustainability while highlighting the effort that a lot of these workers are already putting in to reach this new reality," the minister said.

The government is currently preparing a law to adapt to the new goal. Farmers will then be able to request a sustainable certification for their products.

In addition to the new legislation, the executive is preparing a good practice guide with several rules for farmers who want to be a part of the project. Authorities will check things such as water supply management, biodiversity, used materials, energy expenditure, and animal welfare, among many others.

Right now, 9% of farmland and 6.3% of farms work in accordance with quality certification rules.

€80 million for local authorities

One of the other announcements made during the COP27 Climate Conference is the Catalan government's €80 million investment for local authorities.

The goal is to help, during the next four years, these officials develop new practices to adapt to climate change.

These are not new subsidies as they already exist, but the executive increased their amount as the budget allocated for the 2021-22 period was €1 million per year, instead of the €40 million expected in 2023-24.

Climate activists against COP27

Around 100 people demonstrated on Saturday in Barcelona's Sants neighborhood against the COP27 Climate Conference. The summit "does not have any reason to exist, as it is useless," some of the activists said. 

For them, the world governments "lack ambition" to battle climate change, which is why the goal of the 'Xarxa de Moviments per la Justícia Climàtica' (Actions network for climate justice) is to "take to the streets again to urge real actions."

During the weekend, the Catalan capital also saw another climate-related protest at Barcelona's Egyptian Museum, where two activists painted a mummy showcase and other paintings on display.