Speech by Joan Ruddock MP to the Launch of the Climate Change Taskforce Report, London - 10 December 2007
Thank you very much for inviting me to this launch of the Climate Change Taskforce Report. I am sorry that Hilary Benn can’t be here today – but as I am sure you are aware he is attending the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali this week.
I know I don’t need to talk today about how serious a threat climate change is. It’s no longer a question of whether we need to act, but how much we need to do to stabilise our climate.
The UK intends to be at the forefront of this challenge. The Climate Change Bill sets ambitious targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions through domestic and international action. It introduces a system of five-year carbon budgets which will give business the certainty it needs to make investment decisions. It also creates the Committee on Climate Change, an independent, expert body to advise the government on the pathway to the 2050 target.
And, as the Prime Minister announced recently, we will be asking the Committee whether our long term target should be increased from the at least 60% as it is in the Bill at the moment, to 80%. As part of this review the Committee will also report on the implications of including other greenhouse gases and international aviation emissions in our targets.
The Bill also requires us to put in place a strong, sustainable framework for adapting to the impacts of climate change. As part of this Government will have to regularly assess the risks that climate change poses to the UK and report on those risks to Parliament.
Meeting the targets in the Bill, along with our international targets, is going to be extremely challenging. All sectors need to act. It’s good to see agriculture starting to respond to the challenge, especially as climate change is such a crucial and indeed unavoidable aspect of your sector.
I very much welcome the leadership that the CLA, NFU and AIC have shown in establishing the task force, and in developing this report over the past year.
The report sends a clear signal to all parts of the sector that the industry leaders take climate change seriously. Importantly – while the report recognises the challenges of climate change - it also acknowledges that there will be substantial social, economic and environmental benefits from taking action now of course what Stern said.
I was particularly interested to see the suggestion that agriculture ultimately has the potential to become almost carbon neutral. That sounds like a goal well worth pursuing. The Government is keen to work with all of you to see how best that vision might be realised.
Today’s report will be an important contribution but I know this is not the only work going on and many of you are involved in other important initiatives on climate change.
The Farming Futures project, which has recently made a very good start in raising awareness amongst farmers and land managers about the significance of climate change, is one example. I’m very pleased that we were able to announce last month that Defra will fund the second phase of this project.
The CLA is also playing its part in changing attitudes and behaviours towards climate change by developing a carbon calculator for farmers and land managers. And I also welcome the work of the AIC, NFU, FWAG and LEAF on the Professional Nutrient Management Initiative, which aims to increase the efficiency of fertiliser use.
I think it is important that all these worthwhile initiatives engage with Government and other key stakeholders, notably environmental organisations and regulators, through the Rural Climate Change Forum. This group has shown real leadership and is an important catalyst for action on climate change in the rural sector.
Progress so far is encouraging. But as today’s report suggests – now is the time to move into a higher gear.
Awareness of climate change amongst farmers is now at an all time high – a survey under the Farming Futures project showed that 81% of farmers questioned now believe that the climate is changing. And that was before we had the summer floods and bluetongue.
So this report is extremely timely, and as industry leaders you can capitalise on this raised level of awareness.
Action really is urgent. We’re already locked into climate change for the next 30 to 40 years and new risks are already apparent. Agriculture needs to adapt and manage these risks. And, as custodians of around three quarters of English land, farmers have an important role to play in helping the natural environment and society to adapt.
So I certainly agree with the overall theme of the report you’re launching today - that farming and land management is part of the solution to tackling climate change and that there are great opportunities.
The sector is in a unique position to help others reduce their carbon foot-print by protecting stores of carbon and enhancing removals of CO2 from the atmosphere to soils and woodland.
And there will be increasing opportunities to use biomass as an alternative to fossil fuels, for instance using anaerobic digestion to produce biogas for energy. Or to produce timber as an alternative to energy-intensive steel or concrete.
But despite all these new opportunities we need to keep in mind that agriculture is responsible for about 7% of UK greenhouse gas emissions. That means agriculture the second largest contributor to UK emissions after the energy sector. So agriculture has a responsibility to reduce its own emissions as much as possible - for example, by using fertiliser more efficiently, or matching livestock diets to their precise nutritional needs.
Some rural businesses are already facing up to these responsibilities, seizing the opportunities and setting an example for others to follow. Clinton Devon Estates has set up a programme to measure and reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency across the estate. Biogen on-farm anaerobic digestion plant is another great example - it processes pig slurry and food waste to run a generator with enough electrical output to power 600-800 homes. Such examples of good practice need to inspire many, many others.
Our responsibility as government is to provide the right policy framework. We are already exploring many of the issues the taskforce has highlighted in its report. For example, the feasibility of some form of emissions trading scheme, and the role of agri-environment schemes to contribute to climate change goals. And we are working hard with stakeholders to remove the barriers to faster growth of anaerobic digestion, not only in agriculture but right across the economy.
We have a strong programme of research looking at how to measure and reduce greenhouse gases from farming, and how UK agriculture will be affected by climate change. The Task Force report highlights some important aspects of this. The Rural Climate Change Forum has an important role in bringing everyone together to discuss the implications of research for both policy and delivery.
As we debate the Climate Change Bill in Parliament at the moment and the Committee on Climate Change begins its work, we’ll increasingly look beyond the energy sector to see where action can be taken to reduce emissions and to manage the impacts of climate change.
There is no doubt that climate change is one of the biggest challenge facing agriculture, and much of the action to promote good practice needs to come from within the sector itself.
We in government are certainly committed to action – the Climate Change Bill, the first in the world, demonstrates that – and we look forward to working with you to bring about even faster change.
Thank you.
Page published: 11 December 2007