Climate change targets could end farming as we know it - NFU

Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:01pm BST 13/10/2008

New targets to cut the UK's greenhouse emissions by at least 80 per cent will cripple agriculture in the UK, according to farmers.

The Climate Change Committee, that is advising the Government on carbon-cutting legisation, recommended last week the target be raised from 60 to 80 per cent and include all greenhouse gases.This means that methane and nitrouse oxide, which are mainly produced by farming practices, will have to drop significantly.

The NFU said it would be "nigh on impossible" for farming to make the cuts without a massive reduction in livestock farming - which produces methane and cultivating the land - which produces nitrous oxide.
Dr Jonathan Scurlock, chief adviser on renewable energy and climate change at the National Farmers' Union, explained that ploughing the soil and using fertiliser produces large amounts of nitrous oxide.
He said Britain would have to stop producing its own food in order to meet the targets and rely on imports instead, which will just mean the carbon emissions are produced elsewhere in the world.
"Were we to try to attain that target by a reduction in agricultural production the consequences would be a lot of farms over large areas of Britain would be turned into national parks and we would be importing 80 to 90 per cent of our food rather than 30 to 40 per cent," he said.
Allan Buckwell, director of policy at the Country Land and Business Association, said Britain should be producing more of its own food because of an impending food crisis caused by climate change and the growth in the global population.
But he said this would be impossible to do while cutting green house gases without "amazing new technology".
"We simply do not know how to produce the current volume of food produced using 80 per cent less greenhouse gases," he added.
Peter Melchett, Soil Association policy director, said the targets will "revolutionise" farming.
"It is hard to imagine how we could cut greenhouse gases by 80 per cent without seen an end to the use of nitrogen fertilisers," he said.
David Kennedy, chief executive of the Climate Change Committee, said it had not yet been decided how much each sector must cut greenhouse gases.
The agricultural sector contributes seven per cent of the UK's greenhouse gases, mostly because of nitrous oxide and methane emissions, and every sector will be expected to play its part.
"It is important to point out that not all sectors will be expected to reduce their emissions by the national average," he said. "We have consulted closely with the NFU and CLA and other bodies in the agricultural sector over the past year in collating our evidence and approach.
"We do recognise the particular difficulties that this sector faces and have taken these factors into account in conducting our analysis. However, as the climate change task force recognises, there are also abatement opportunities available in this sector."
The recommended targets for each sector will be set out when the CCC reports in December.