In June 2019, the Government legally committed the UK to reaching
‘net-zero’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. The
agriculture sector accounts for approximately 10% of the UK’s GHG
emissions, and many of the options for absorbing carbon emissions
such as planting trees or restoring peatland involve changes to
the use of land. Therefore, achieving net-zero will pose
significant challenges for farming and farming communities.
Climate change is also a major risk for UK agriculture. For
example, farmers already face water shortages, heat stress on
livestock, and crop loss owing to hotter summers. More intense
rainfall will mean accelerated soil erosion and more flooding.
Sea-level rise could also lead to substantial losses in crop
production from low-lying areas.
The Committee on Climate Change has argued that
existing policies are not working, as agriculture’s contribution
to UK GHG emissions remains virtually unchanged at 10% since
2008. It has therefore called for stronger action to reduce
agricultural GHGs and a better land strategy to fully deal with
the challenge of climate change.
The EFRA Committee inquiry will examine how agriculture can
achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 whilst maintaining food
production. It will also look at how those affected in farming
communities can be supported through the transition fairly.
, Chair of the Committee
said:
“Climate change is a huge threat to farming in the UK.
Agriculture must play its part in getting to net-zero emissions,
and that will involve tough choices. But, we must do it in a
way that maintains food production in the UK. If we don’t,
farmers and the public won’t support the actions that we need to
take, and we risk seeing higher emissions in other countries as
they produce food to sell to us.
“We therefore want to explore what are the most practical
ways that agriculture can achieve net-zero emissions, and how we
best support the farming communities who are going to be affected
by the transition.”
Terms of reference
- 1. How could 20% of UK
agricultural land be repurposed to increase forest cover, restore
peatlands, implement catchment-sensitive farming and enable
agricultural diversification, whilst maintaining current levels
of food production?
- a. Are there other
practical and economic ways for the agriculture sector to achieve
net zero emissions?
- 2. How important will the
financial payments proposed under the Agriculture Bill be to
incentivise actions to reduce, capture and store GHG emissions,
and how should the payments system be designed?
- 3. What support, skills,
training and information will land managers need to adapt and
thrive; and how should this be provided and funded?
- 4. How could innovative
technologies and farming practices help the agriculture sector
achieve net zero? Are they currently commercially viable or is
there a viable path to market for them?
- 5. What impacts would
large-scale changes in land-use have on rural communities and how
should the transition be managed to achieve sustainable and just
economic, environmental and social outcomes?
- 6. What impact would
encouraging a shift in diets towards lower red meat and dairy
consumption have on agriculture, and how could any negative
impacts be mitigated?
- 7. How can any reduction
in UK-agricultural GHG emissions be achieved without ‘offshoring’
emissions to other countries via increases in the consumption of
imported foods in the UK?
