We believe we can deliver net zero
I RECENTLY had the pleasure of speaking at a net zero event alongside Lord Deben, chair of the Climate Change Committee, retailers and key figures from the food supply chain.
The event, which was part of the Westminster Food and Nutrition Forum policy conference was titled ‘Key strategic priorities for achieving net zero farming – productivity, efficiency and land management’ and was held virtually.
While it has been a privilege to speak at these events before at rather grand locations in central London, nothing could compare to taking part this time from my family farm in Merthyr Cynog, looking out over the farm and onwards to the Brecon Beacons, over land shaped and crafted by farmers for thousands of years.
At the event, I spoke about NFU Cymru’s vision for a productive, progressive and profitable Welsh food and farming industry.
We have a vision that this will include delivering jobs, growth and investment for Wales, producing the most climate-friendly food in the world against a backdrop of an improving natural asset base.
We want to see our communities, culture and language thrive.
Since announcing our ambition for net zero farming by 2040, along with the NFU, we have invested in significant resources and expertise in making sure our ambition becomes a reality.
As farmers we recognise the role we have to play in building a zerocarbon economy for the UK. We are committed to reducing emissions from food production and we also recognise we have a unique role as an industry in carbon sequestration.
As a union we are clear that net zero agriculture isn’t about exporting the impact of food production to other parts of the work, but instead keeping it closer to home.
Our beef and lamb production in Wales is already world leading in terms of sustainability.
Our emissions for beef production are about 40% of the global average and our lamb production systems are amongst the lowest in the world, but we do recognise there is more we can, and must, do to cut this further.
We believe we can deliver net zero whilst retaining, if not growing, our agricultural capacity. Here in Wales, we produce food to some of the highest environmental standards in the world, and we must avoid anything that simply exports out greenhouse gas emissions to other parts of the world.
It is not about every individual farmer reaching net zero, it is about us collectively, as an industry, achieving our ambition. We all have different starting points on this journey, and we will have different opportunities and barriers to contend with, and this is why we need access to a whole portfolio of options.
This will all depends on our farming systems, out location and factors like planning and access to capital.