Farmers’ Union of Wales officials have met with the Rt. Hon Lord Deben (John Gummer), Chairman of the Climate Change Committee (CCC) and Dr Nikki Rust, Head of Nature, Land & Agriculture at the CCC to discuss the role played by agriculture in future net-zero policies.
The FUW raised numerous suggestions and concerns related to achieving net zero- many of which were shared by Lord Deben and Dr Rust on behalf of the CCC.
Issues discussed included the dangers of off-shoring emissions due to trade deals and imported food, the need for a well-thought through and financed transition for farmers, meat and dairy consumption proposals, tree-planting, carbon calculators and the need for low-carbon farming practices to make business sense for farmers.
The FUW emphasised the need for a balanced way forward ensuring that zet-zero policies consider economic, social and environmental implications, without succumbing to ‘carbon tunnel-vision’, especially when it comes to tree-planting for carbon offsetting purposes.
Union officials further stressed that the radical change to farming subsidies and policies must be prepared properly in a balanced manner to ensure their success and to provide certainty - both for climate change mitigation goals and for farmers.
The FUW has repeatedly called on the Welsh Government to ensure an evolution - not revolution - approach when it comes to changing current schemes, providing stability and a fully funded transition into the Sustainable Farming Scheme. The FUW will continue to work with them in partnership and fully appreciate the challenge of achieving the next Welsh Government carbon budget target to reduce emissions by 58% by 2030.
Union officials also raised the issue of carbon audits, and the need for standardisation and incentives to enable uptake.
Carbon calculators and audits must provide meaningful and actionable information to farmers, without the need for consultants at every step. There is already a huge level of data which is collected by the Welsh Government across RPW Online, EID Cymru, BCMS and in relation to the recently introduced Water Resources Regulations.
The FUW believes that better use could be made of such information to help clarify a farmers’ GHG emission and sequestration levels.
The FUW further used the opportunity to remind the CCC that their advice was to maintain food production in the UK in order to help prevent the offshoring of emissions.
The FUW made it clear again in the discussions that this is a key opportunity for Welsh farmers in the pathway to net zero, particularly due to Welsh farming’s sustainability credentials and links between biodiversity and Welsh lamb and beef production.