Through the collaboration of scientists, entrepreneurs, and officials, Latvia must develop its own methodology for implementing the European Union's Green Deal and the mechanisms for its execution, which would allow us to meet the set objectives while avoiding excesses—a Latvian position that politicians must be able to defend firmly and resolutely within European Union structures.

This future course of action is outlined by a discussion hosted by “Dienas Bizness” in collaboration with the portal zemeunvalsts.lv regarding potential future scenarios for Latvia’s land-based sectors – forestry, agriculture, and peat. Latvian land is our greatest asset, and all land-related sectors, which are among the most vital pillars of the Latvian economy, must stand as a united front; furthermore, if the European Union wishes to achieve specific goals, the necessary resources to reach them must be received directly from the EU.

Doing nothing today – problems for tomorrow

“At present, drafts of the documents intended for the Climate Law accepted by the European Parliament at the end of June this year have taken on concrete form. Reading these documents that are still in development, one gets the impression that they were prepared by 'experts' guided by very general algorithms,” explains Uldis Ameriks, co-owner of SIA LaFlora. He points out that every EU member state, including Latvia, is being set specific tasks in the mentioned documents – by 2030, CO2 emissions must be reduced by 17%, and CO2 sequestration must be ensured in the amount of 644,000 tonnes. “Upon studying these conditions in detail, it became clear that they are not achievable; furthermore, different calculation algorithms have been used for countries like Ireland and Latvia,” emphasises U. Ameriks. He recalls that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has spoken about the creation of a European Scientific Advisory Board, which would include 50 experts delegated to the task by EU member states. “Such a team of experts would be the one to evaluate and determine the realistically achievable tasks for each member state, as well as monitor their implementation both by 2030 and 2050. I am convinced that work is underway, but neither industry entrepreneurs nor experts are involved, and there is no information on whether scientists from Latvia have been delegated,” says U. Ameriks. He points to the EU's guiding principle – fairness and honesty. “State institutions, sectors, scientists, and experts must begin discussing the tasks to be carried out by Latvia and understand what is realistically achievable and what is not, to avoid a situation where we currently take on obligations and costs that future generations will not be able to meet,” warns U. Ameriks.

A new avalanche, full of sharp questionsfull

“There is a great deal of new information right now, more than we can grasp, let alone understand, so local scientists must be involved in this work, and we must understand what the national position is and what the best possible solution is to fulfill tasks and achieve relevant goals. This must be addressed by politicians who should be defending Latvia's position in EU structures,” notes Žanis Bacāns, Forestry Manager at SIA Sodra Latvia.

“We all want to live green, the Green Deal is a good idea, but... at present, we produce food in both conventional and organic farming. The problem arises at the moment we go to the shop and want to buy organically grown food at the prices of conventional food,” explains Guntis Gūtmanis, a board member of the Farmers Parliament (LOSP). He is quick to add that approximately 80% of Latvia's population simply cannot afford to buy organic food because their income does not allow for it.

“The question arises – what do we really want, and what situation will we end up in if we are a small producer of organic food, while 80% of Latvian consumers import food from other countries that will not have the same requirements as those Latvian farmers must follow, simply because people won't be able to afford the food,” says G. Gūtmanis.

Peat on the front line

“The peat industry has ended up on the front line of the battle regarding the Just Transition Mechanism, the goal of which was to prevent the use of peat, as well as Estonian oil shale and Polish hard coal, as fuel, even though peat has not been used for energy in Latvia for nearly 20 years. Despite this, entrepreneurs in the peat industry feel the full 'colourful' bouquet of unfair treatment,” notes U. Ameriks. He recalls that in words, it is still promised to resolve the situation fairly and justly, but in practice, something else is already visible. “If you want to obtain co-financing from EU structural funds, the applicant will not receive it if the word 'peat' is mentioned, because peat is marked as an unsustainable resource, even though peat is a renewable resource – in Latvia, the volume of peat increases by 1.7 million tonnes annually, but we only extract 1.2–1.3 million tonnes. Drafts of taxonomy documents indicate that those who use peat in the future will not be able to receive any funding, most likely including from banks,” says U. Ameriks. He assumes that the people who came up with this were guided only by two assumptions – peat extraction (when it is burned) means high CO2 emissions, and nature – wetlands – must be protected (therefore, the entire peat industry must essentially be liquidated).

“It is not taken into account that for achieving climate neutrality, peat extraction and the substrates produced from peat are indispensable because, for example, one year's volume of peat extraction in Latvia can ensure the growing of 36 billion tree seedlings, which would ensure a sufficiently large sequestration of CO2,” explains U. Ameriks.

He suggests modelling the situation of what will happen in Latvia in 2030 and what in 2050 if what is set out in the draft European documents is implemented. “Then we will be able to see the consequences,” concludes U. Ameriks.

He does feel the favourable attitude of individual politicians, but when Latvian interests need to be defended in the corridors of power of European structures, the politicians' courage falters. “Latvia must defend its position, and I hope that common sense will prevail,” says U. Ameriks.

“It is quite possible that they don't understand something in the corridors of Brussels, but! ... Latvia has one of the highest quality peats in the world, the substrates made from it are bought by vegetable, flower, and tree seedling growers in many countries, and no one intends to burn Latvian peat,” says G. Gūtmanis.

Either Latvia's representatives have failed to explain and clarify, or someone in Brussels, where all the new draft documents are being created, has not wanted to understand the Latvian situation. “We must fight for our interests; we cannot wait for someone else to do something on our behalf,” says G. Gūtmanis. “I have not studied what the CO2 emission balance of peat extraction is, but the industry wants to plant tree seedlings and would not want to return to ancestral methods where we sowed seeds, because high-quality, high-value forest stands cannot be grown without high-quality seedlings obtained from high-generation seed material,” says Ž. Bacāns. He reminds us that higher-quality forest stands sequester more CO2 as they grow, and the matured stands can provide resources with which to replace fossil fuels. “Blueberries are grown in the exploited peat bogs, which also sequester CO2,” adds G. Gūtmanis.

There could be more forests in Latvia

To achieve CO2 emission sequestration, the planting of forests is mentioned as one of the solutions. “We can afforest areas that are not yet classified as agricultural or forestry land; most often, bushes have grown there, and there are also small clearings in the middle of the forest that no one has an economic justification to use for agriculture,” explains Ž. Bacāns.

He emphasises that there are not many such relatively free areas, but they do exist. “Latvia has the opportunity and potential, especially since we grow a great many forest tree seedlings every year, even though a portion of them are exported,” says Ž. Bacāns. He points out that SIA Sodra Latvia plants twice as many trees every year as it fells in regeneration and tending cuts. “Many large forestry companies in Latvia do the same, including 'Latvijas valsts meži',” says Ž. Bacāns.

“At first glance, farmers are not ready to give up even a single square metre of agricultural land, as there is a shortage, and even in those fields that are overgrown with bushes, farmers have been restoring agricultural production in recent years,” says G. Gūtmanis. He adds that Latvian farmers must be prepared for various innovations from the EU – how large grassland territories must be, which means that too much territory will not be allowed to be ploughed, which means partially passive agriculture. “Organic or peat soils are considered a large source of emissions if they are disturbed. It will be more profitable for a landowner to plant trees on such peat soils, thereby reducing the emissions of their economic activity,” adds U. Ameriks. He believes that we must protect our land – an asset – in the truest sense of the word. “Europe is very energetically pushing forward regulations regarding carbon credits, a carbon market will be opened, and many foreign investors are buying up land, not to grow anything on it, but to use it as a carbon credit. So that it doesn't happen that some large company from Western Europe buys forest and bog land in Latvia and counts it as an investment in its sustainability balance – having sequestered or, conversely, captured the CO2 produced in production. This is precisely why we must monitor all forthcoming regulations,” U. Ameriks explains his position. In his view, Latvia is threatened by the forthcoming soil regulation. “The most expensive commodity in the world is information, and for now, I am not satisfied with how the communication with the industries has taken place, because when certain reduction percentages are promised, they always hide real people's jobs and standard of living. The Green Deal will affect a great many people, in fact, absolutely everyone in Latvia and Europe,” points out U. Ameriks.

Awaiting active state action in the land market

“If there is as much money in Latvia as there has never been, the state should invest and acquire land from those physical and legal persons who wish to sell it, using the right of first refusal, because there is nothing better and more valuable than the 'land' asset,” says U. Ameriks. In his view, Latvian land must be preserved for future generations, and we must think about how to keep people in Latvia so that they do not leave. “For years, we have been debating with green-minded organisations about bans and economic activity, and environmental organisations, farmers, and foresters have come to the conclusion that Latvia needs new, green territories, but they must be maintained by everyone together, rather than the burden being shifted to the owner's shoulders; therefore, we must implement the provision of the law that provides for the alienation of property (at market prices) for the needs of society,” proposes G. Gūtmanis. He reminds us that currently, small compensations are paid to owners for restrictions and bans on economic activity, and they are by no means happy that there are bans or restrictions on their territory. “Such a solution would also allow the state to understand how many protected areas we need and how many we can afford, as well as how much their purchase, inspection, and maintenance cost,” explains G. Gūtmanis.

“There is a biodiversity strategy which provides that 30% of the country's territory must be in protected status, of which 10% – in a strict protection regime, which is in some way a kind of green occupation, justified by very noble goals – the preservation of nature diversity and values; the question is – who will pay for it,” asks U. Ameriks.

If such a norm is required by the EU, it should be financed from the European Union's general budget and compensated not only to the specific landowners but also to the Latvian state. “I am reminded of my grandmother, who had her own farm, and her experience of how she became a collective farmer (kolkhoznik), even though she had refused to join the collective farm. Tax increases were imposed, followed by the next, and after the third increase, my grandmother was forced to join the collective farm,” U. Ameriks sees the past roots of a possible future scenario.

Formula for success – a unified common understanding

“We have insured ourselves against possible future tools because we are an FSC-certified forestry company, and since 2013, we have been identifying habitats and natural values of European importance, not conducting economic activity in the respective territories,” says Ž. Bacāns. He reminds us that 80% of habitats of European importance have been found in forests owned by the Latvian state and only 20% in the forests of private owners.

“Many years ago, when the first embryos of the green deal appeared, Swedish politicians set a task – scientists together with industries should build understanding and suggest concrete solutions to political decision-makers on how to ensure the implementation of these tasks, and suggestions on further action, and it is precisely the politicians of that country who then go on to discuss these with EU structures. This is exactly how we should act in Latvia, although, it seems, it is overdue,” assesses Ž. Bacāns. He points out that a great deal of research on these issues is carried out by the Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, and scientists together with industries and politicians will manage to reach a unified understanding and also common recommendations and solutions. “Arguments are needed, which only scientific research can provide, and furthermore, both local and European-level politicians are needed, because there are many issues where the Prime Minister's firm position is absolutely necessary. It must be remembered that there are too few officials in Latvia who work with these essential issues, because with the existing capacity, it is not even enough to explain Latvia's position,” says G. Gūtmanis.
Discussion video available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbiXbbZ3Aug
Photographs by Frank Horvat, Cottonbro, and zemeunvalsts.lv have been used.