The future of European agriculture is once again in discussion due to the debates about the future of CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) and its subsidies. The future is obviously a big gamble, since it is mainly the economy that determines the farmers' decisions, the crops, and the raising of cattle. The concern with the influences of farming and cattle raising activities or the environment and on consumers' health is now in evidence when it comes to formulating concepts for sustainable agriculture. They are no longer restricted to obtaining optimized production to guarantee the feeding of a population, but also to consider the multifunctional dimension of agriculture, and thus, to guarantee, among other things, the preservation of rural areas. Other functions are equally emerging, such as the use of biomass as renewable energy and, more widely, the decrease in the use of fossil fuels (bio fuels, green chemistry, and carbon balance).

It is in this fluid context that the question of the impact of climate change must be considered. The text proposes to outline what might happen; but it is necessary to keep in mind that this impact will actually be only one of the constituent parts of this changing system.