The provision of public goods by agri-environmental-climatic policies

The provision of public goods by agriculture is perceived as one of the main reasons for maintaining the agricultural sector support. The common agricultural policy (CAP) has become the main environmental regulation in agri-food sector. The CAP is an example of policy mix characterized by the implementation of a mixture of compulsory and voluntary instruments. Despite a thirty-year application, the current provision of public goods is unsatisfactory due to policy failures. A fertile debate about CAP reform started and the European Commission proposed radical changes to the design of agri-environment and climate schemes (AECSs). This contribution aims to review inefficiencies that can hinder the achievement by CAP of the desired level of public goods. The contribution is developed within the H2020 project CONSOLE (CONtract SOLutions for Effective and lasting delivery of agri-environmental-climate public goods by EU agriculture and forestry).