(West Scotland)
(Con):...Let us consider
agriculture. NFU Scotland is broadly
supportive of the current strategy and is willing to engage on
further measures. For it, progress is, as I have highlighted, more
a question of resources and recognition of the nature of the
sector, rather than just a question of stretching targets.
Therefore, we propose direct capital funding and technical support,
which would enable farmers to produce better environmental and
economic outcomes. It would recognise that they are part of the
solution...
(Orkney Islands)
(LD):...Before I conclude, I will touch
briefly on agriculture. That sector needs to do more, and there is
an appetite for it to do so. However, that is best achieved
collaboratively—by using carrots as well as sticks, rather than the
more confrontational approach that, unfortunately, is adopted by
some. As the NFUS says, emissions are an inevitable
consequence of our food production. They can and should be reduced,
but there is an argument for looking at how the positives from
agriculture can be more fairly balanced alongside the negatives.
Ultimately, however, farmers and crofters must be seen as part of
the solution...
Angus MacDonald (Falkirk East)
(SNP):...That brings me to farming. I am
grateful to the NFUS for its briefing in advance of the
debate, which recognises that climate change is a critically
important issue for Scottish farming. I am also grateful for the
WWF briefing, which highlights the report that it produced with
Vivid Economics, providing a pathway for agriculture to reduce
emissions by around 35 per cent while maintaining current
production levels...
(Aberdeenshire West)
(Con):...A second area requiring serious
attention is our agriculture sector, which would need to reduce
emissions significantly to play its role in a net zero target. We
of course support NFU Scotland’s position that food
production is always likely to remain one of the biggest emitting
sectors and that a net zero target does not mean reducing
agricultural emissions to zero.
However, the NFU in England now believes that it can
reduce its emissions to 35 per cent by 2045, so we await the
Scottish Government producing a similar achievable road map.
There is no doubt that our farmers are experiencing at first hand
the effects of climate change. They accept that more needs to be
done to reduce their contribution towards carbon emissions, but
they cannot achieve that alone. NFUScotland has called on the Scottish
Government to provide better support so that farmers can become
part of the solution to climate change...
(Galloway and West Dumfries)
(Con): I refer members to my
entry in the register of members’ interests and my membership of
the NFUScotland...
(Highlands and Islands)
(Con):...NFU Scotland has said
that climate change is “critically important”. It believes
that
“we will achieve much better outcomes in the
long run if people are encouraged to tackle emissions rather than
be forced to through the use of regulation”,
and that, if farmers are able to take
a voluntary approach, it
“potentially also enhances their
business”.
According to the Scottish Government’s
climate change plan, the agriculture and related land use sector
has seen a 25.8 per cent fall in emissions between 1990 and 2015,
because of, for example, sustained efficiency improvements in
farming and better fertiliser management. That is positive and it
further highlights the actions that our farmers and crofters are
taking to manage land more sustainably.
Representatives of the sector have
raised concerns about how carbon capture calculations are made.
The vice president of the NFUS questioned whether
“carbon capture calculations properly identify
what is being sequestrated by our hills, uplands and peatlands
and fairly balance that against emissions from the livestock
grazing”.
If it does not, that sequestration
should be promoted...
To read the whole debate, CLICK
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