NFU calls for net zero farming emissions by 2040

UK farmers should aim to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 or earlier to stay ahead of the competition in the global food and agriculture market, the head of the National Farmers' Union (NFU) has declared.

During a speech yesterday at the Oxford Real Farming Conference, NFU president Minette Batters described the UK farming sector as a world leader on food safety, traceability, environmental protection, and animal welfare.

But she suggested farmers should strive for further progress on environmental protection and tackling climate change in order to take the lead in a global market after the UK leaves the European Union. Batters called on the sector to slash all greenhouse gases - including CO2, methane, and nitrous oxides - to net zero over the next two decades.

"Our aim must be ambitious: to get our industry to net zero across all greenhouse gas inventories by 2040 or before," Batters told the Oxford Farming Conference.

The target marks a significant uplift in ambition for the British farming industry. An earlier industry-wide goal aimed for emissions cuts of three million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year between 2018 and 2022, "without compromising domestic production" levels. 

Echoing comments made earlier in the day at the conference by Environment Secretary Michael Gove, Batters warned a no-deal Brexit could lead to food price rises and lower import tariffs, which could open up the UK market to products made under lower environmental standards than British farmers adhere to.

She said UK consumers were "proud" of the high quality food produced in Britain, and said it was therefore crucial the government engaged with the farming sector and provided long-term certainty to ensure a "sustainable, competitive and profitable farming sector for generations to come".

But Batters said that while UK beef production was already 2.5 times more efficient than the world average, and four times more efficient than South America, British farmers still lagged behind some other countries and should therefore strive to be more ambitious still.

"Competitors in our market from Ireland to New Zealand have laid down the gauntlet, and I am here to pick it up today," said Batters. "I believe we can match and beat their lead. Our aim must be ambitious: to get our industry to net zero across all greenhouse gas inventories by 2040 or before."

NFU President @Minette_Batters outlines the British farming industry's ambitions for tackling climate change in her speech at the #OFC19 pic.twitter.com/JzPOFBfGX4

— NFU Press Team (@NFUPress) January 3, 2019

An NFU spokeswoman said the trade body has been developing the net zero policy for the sector "over the past few months".

Globally, livestock farming accounts for around 14.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and rising, which makes the sector the world's second largest emitter after the energy sector. Most farm-related emissions come in the form of methane and nitrous oxide, but changes in land use to make way for livestock farming can also cause the loss of carbon sinks.

In November, two reports by the UK's Committee on Climate Change attempted to set out how the farming sector could drive deep decarbonisation while also benefiting the economy.

Green groups are hoping the government's planned reforms to farming subsidies will provide farmers with financial incentives to enhance carbon sinks and curb emissions. However, some farmers have warned that the proposals could result in some productive land being taken out of production in a way that could curb UK food production.