Making agriculture sustainable is a global challenge. In the European Union (EU), the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is failing with respect to biodiversity, climate, soil, land degradation as well as socio-economic challenges.

The European Commission?s proposal for a CAP post-2020 provides a scope for enhanced sustainability. However, it also allows Member States to choose low-ambition implementation pathways. It therefore remains essential to address citizens? demands for sustainable agriculture and rectify systemic weaknesses in the CAP, using the full breadth of available scientific evidence and knowledge.

Concerned about current attempts to dilute the environmental ambition of thefuture CAP, and the lack of concrete proposals for improving the CAP inthe draft of the European Green Deal, we call on the European Parliament, Council and Commission to adopt ten urgent action points fordelivering sustainable food production, biodiversity conservation, andclimate mitigation.

Knowledge is available to help moving towards an evidence-based, sustainable European agriculture that can benefit people, nature and their joint futures.

The statements made inthis article have the broad support of the scientific community,expressed by over 3,600 signatories to the preprint version of this manuscript.

For more information visit https://www.idiv.de/en/cap-scientists-statement.