In this 18 page discussion paper, published in November 2008, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) presents a Vision for a 'Common Environment and Rural Policy (CERP)' . The relationship between agriculture and the environment is set out, and a case is made for further CAP reform. A number of underlying principles for the new policy are put forward, including ‘public payments for public goods’. The core components of the CERP are then presented, as follows:

• the legislative baseline;
• Level 1: Basic area payments for public benefit and specific rural development assistance;
• Level 2: Targeted support for achieving more complex environmental outcomes.

According to the WWF Vision, the CERP would be phased in over a period of about ten years, and fully operable by 2020.