Thematic Group on Green Architecture: Designing Green Strategies
This Thematic Group (TG) gives you the opportunity to share experiences about the different approaches Member States chose in the implementation of the Green Architecture. We will explore the interactions of the different interventions and examine how green strategies work in practice.
An important objective of the 2023-27 CAP is to increase the environmental and climate ambition of CAP Strategic Plans (CSPs). In drafting their CSPs, Member States were required to take into account the objectives and targets of key EU environmental and climate laws. The CSPs also had to set out their contribution to the EU-level ambitions of the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy as part of the Green Deal.
The CAP’s ‘green architecture’ is the suite of rules and tools for improving the environmental and climate performance of farming, food production, land management and rural areas. It sets conditions for the receipt of certain payments (conditionality) and includes various interventions such as eco-schemes, agri-environment-climate schemes, compensation for area-specific disadvantages, as well as green and non-productive investments, knowledge exchange and cooperation.
Member States are required to make eco-schemes and agri-environment-climate schemes available for farmers and land-managers, but otherwise have the freedom to choose which interventions they want to use and design them in a way that addresses their needs. It is anticipated that the set of interventions chosen by Member States will collectively deliver the intended outcomes, creating a ‘green strategy’ within the CSP for each Member State.
Member States have taken very different approaches to developing such strategies using different elements of the green architecture. As we move into the second year of implementation, this is a good moment to reflect on the state of play across the EU and examine how green strategies are supporting the realisation of environmental and climate targets.
This Thematic Group (TG) was an opportunity for a committed group of experts and relevant stakeholders to explore what lessons can be learned about the effective design and implementation of coherent green strategies using the interventions available within the green architecture.
The work of this TG was informed by the outputs of previous and ongoing work done by the CAP Implementation Contact Point, such as Thematic Groups, specifically those relating to CAP Strategic Plans: Monitoring Committees (2023) and Eco-scheme design and implementation (2023).
The objectives of this TG were to:
- Share experiences on the design and implementation of green strategies, including how various elements of the green architecture have been utilised to meet the specific environmental and climate needs;
- Explore the relative merits of the approaches taken (focusing on specific examples), including the difficulties and challenges faced;
- Focusing on specific examples, explore issues relating to implementation and how the different elements of the green architecture work together in practice;
- Develop ideas and recommendations for further improving green strategies in terms of the interventions used, their design and funding.
To follow the work of this Thematic Group, please visit this page regularly, subscribe to our monthly newsletter, and follow us on social media (#GreenArchitecture).
If you have any question, please contact us at thematicgroup5@eucapnetwork.eu.
You can find useful resources about this theme further down in this page and in our Publications section.
