Memorandum submitted by the National Farmers'
Union (CIT 18)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The NFU believes that there is significant potential
for the individual and the community to contribute to tackling
climate change. Farmers and growers are in a particularly good
position to tackle greenhouse gas emissions, both personally and
for communities, from the following three points:
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Farmers and growers are already focused on energy
efficiency, particularly with the inclusion of the Climate Change
Levy. There is further potential to develop this energy efficiency
through a number of methods:
— Increased communications about
energy efficiency and cost-efficient technologies.
— Increased guidance and support
about installation and use of these technologies.
— Economic incentives to invest
in energy efficiency.
MICROGENERATION
Microgeneration has significant potential within
communities.
Current barriers include:
— A lack of understanding about
how projects work, and a lack of clear help and advice.
— Regulatory constraints such
as current planning policy.
— Financial constraints on the
individual to invest in new technologies.
AWARENESS
Increased awareness of climate change has been
proven to increase the action taken by individuals. Farmers and
growers who are better informed about climate change were planning
for change much sooner than those who were less well informed.
In our following response, we concentrate on
the issues in which we believe we have the most policy expertise.
Question 1. What is the real scope for individual
and local community action to contribute to tackling climate change?
Some areas for possible consideration include:
— increasing energy efficiency,
in particular the delivery of the Energy Efficiency Commitment
(EEC);
— reducing energy consumption—not
only electricity, but also energy used in heating and transportation;
— the provision of desirable
low carbon alternatives, such as energy saving lightbulbs or using
public transport;
— the potential for, and barriers
to, microgeneration;
— the potential for "smart
metering";
— awareness of climate change
and availability of information about the role of the individual
in tackling the problem.
1.1 Energy Efficiency
On an individual basis, farmers and growers
are in a good position to tackle climate change. They can reduce
their own greenhouse gas footprint, but also reduce others contribution
by practices such as growing biofuels or carbon sequestration
in their soils and vegetation. Energy efficiency is also an area
where individuals in the agricultural sector can make a contribution
to tackling climate change. Over the period 2000-03, the total
energy use in agriculture decreased by 10%.[22]
Farmers and growers from the energy intensive
sectors of poultry meat, eggs, pigs and horticulture are already
well placed to tackle energy efficiency with the Climate Change
Levy (CCL). As a result of this, many farmers are already focused
on reducing their energy consumption. Both pigs and poultry meat
and eggs have greatly exceeded their targets, by up to 22% overachievement
on baseline figures compared to the targets in milestones 1 and
2. The CCL as a whole is estimated to reduce energy demand by
2.9% a year[23]
with intensive faming sectors being part of that reduction. This
is an important part of energy efficiency in the intensive livestock
sectors, with investments in energy efficient equipments. There
is a great potential for further energy efficiency within the
farming industry given the correct market conditions. There is
however a need for greater education, to increase this uptake
of energy saving technologies.
Precision farming also encourages energy efficiency,
for example, with techniques which reduce the number of times
a field needs to be ploughed. This reduces diesel use, encouraging
energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. With such a win-win
situation for farmers, these types of technologies should be encouraged,
starting with increasing the knowledge of these techniques within
agriculture. The encouragement of efficient working practices
on farm fit in well with precision agriculture. Concepts such
as the redesigning of individual farms to maximise energy efficiency
is one which may become more viable in the future. And environmental
audit can ensure that farm diversity is maintained whilst adapting
margins and corners for this efficiency.
Energy efficiency is the most cost-efficient
solution to the challenges of energy security, fuel poverty and
climate change. We need a stable package of measures that will
actually deliver a significant reduction in energy consumption
growth trends.
Barriers to energy efficiency amongst the agriculture
and horticulture sectors include a lack of clear guidance about
what measures must be carried out. Clearer and more obtainable
advice regarding energy saving measures needs to be promoted,
working with organisations such as the Carbon Trust. Work into
raising awareness of, and providing support and advice about energy
efficiency is key to developing uptake of new or lesser known
technologies, such as microgeneration or combined heat and power.
Continued encouragement of these technologies is needed, to ensure
there is a significant demand pull. One problem which may be experienced
by the farming sector when they are looking to reduce their individual
energy usage is that much of the advice available is to the residential
sector, or larger scale businesses. There is perhaps a lack of
information focused at the specific needs of this specialised
sector. We look to the Government to review its support for energy
conservation assistance aimed at the micro and SME sector with
the aim of re-launching such services.
There may also be a lack of capital to invest
in energy saving technologies. The Government needs to put into
place incentives which encourage the use of energy efficient technologies,
whilst not increasing regulatory burden on the industry. By focusing
on energy efficiency, dual goals of increased competitiveness
in the marketplace and environmental sustainability can be achieved.
1.2 Microgeneration
Microgeneration has significant potential within
communities. Within the farming community, microgeneration using
methods such as combined heat and power (CHP) offers particularly
great potential owing to the farming community having home-grown
feedstuffs for use in generation. A report suggests that with
the appropriate support, microgeneration technologies could reduce
domestic sector CO2 emissions by 3%.[24]
In the short term, these technologies need to be supported until
such time as they are commercially and economically viable. A
DTI report suggests that a capital grant of 25-50% could be enough
to support these technologies until this time. [25]
This is a key measure which could lower greenhouse
gas emissions and provide secure energy for homes and businesses.
It could also reduce the load on national gas and electricity
networks.
Current barriers to microgeneration include
a lack of understanding of how such projects would work, and where
to go to get advice. Another barrier is the ease of connection
to and selling electricity to the national grid. The Government
needs to review procedures and costs for connection and supply
in order to simplify the current approach, and reduce the current
disproportionate costs of connection. Current planning policy
also hinders microgeneration development. The installation of
microgeneration technologies with existing buildings is a particular
problem. There are also issues with incorporating microgeneration
strategies into new developments, particularly those in the public
sector. The use of small scale CHP is of particular interest to
farmers. If these regulatory constraints can be overcome, then
the potential for microgeneration will be enhanced.
The woodfuel strategy, being undertaken by the
Forestry Commission in response to the Government's response to
the Biomass Task Force in April 2006, will help to understand
and increase this underused resource. The strategy is looking
into how to deliver an additional 2 million tonnes of woodfuel
per annum from existing woodlands. This is likely to save 0.4Mt
carbon. This type of initiative allows the individual landowner
to contribute to mitigating climate change, potentially with only
small changes to their business and lifestyle.
Code for Sustainable Homes could also increase
the use of biomass and CHP, by setting out voluntary standards
beyond those required by Building Regulations to decrease environmental
impacts of new homes. Minimum standards on sustainable energy
generation are key to developing use of biomass and microgeneration,
with particular focus on the use of microgeneration obtaining
additional code points.
Notwithstanding these comments, we are convinced
that investment in decentralised energy systems such as local
CHP and district heating schemes and microgeneration offer many
benefits, including surety of supply, sustainability and cost-effective
heating. Provision of incentives for consumers, installers and
network operators, by using planning standards, regulatory and
fiscal measures to stimulate the renewable energy market, especially
with local production and consumption in mind.
1.3 Awareness
Increased awareness of climate change has been
proven to increase the action taken by individuals. This can be
seen with the ADAS Farmers Voice survey, in April 2005. It found
that found that farmers and growers who were better informed about
climate change were planning for change much sooner than those
who were less well informed. [26]As
a result of this the NFU believes that awareness raising among
farmers is a key concern to allow them to increase their personal
contribution to tackling climate change. Farmers and growers are
in a unique situation to both help adaptation and mitigation of
climate change, and their important role in this must be championed.
Question 2. What are the barriers to uptake
of climate change mitigation strategies at the level of the individual,
and how can they be overcome? Are current incentives such as the
energy efficiency commitment or graduated vehicle excise duty
sufficiently strong to affect behaviour?
2.1 The NFU believes that at the level of
the individual farmer, many of the barriers to uptake of mitigation
strategies lies with a lack of understanding or knowledge of the
possible strategies to employ. Often, climate change mitigation
strategies go hand in hand with sound economics, often saving
money or resources. Farmers, whilst often being individuals, also
have business concerns where the bottom financial line is often
where decisions have to be made at. We believe that if this link
between climate change mitigation strategies and financial savings
can be advertised to farmers there is likely to be greater uptake
of mitigation strategies. This lack of understanding and ignorance
of technologies which employ biomass was listed as a key barrier
to their greater use in the biomass task force. [27]
2.2 The uptake of biofuels in vehicles has
a considerable number of barriers to its use by the individual.
The most significant of these is the lack of supply infrastructure.
Long-term market stability and strategic planning is required
in order to gain the investment in infrastructure needed in a
new industry. The introduction of the RTFO provided a great boost
to the biofuels industry and some of the stability that the market
has been searching for. This must be reinforced with long-term
commitments announced as soon as possible. A clear long-term biofuels
strategy that sets out the fiscal policy for at least five years
and shows how the UK will progress onwards from 5% renewable fuel
in 2010 is needed. Failure to provide a long term vision will
increase the risk for investors and reduce the chance of a domestic
biofuels industry developing. With the development of this industry
the individual will have the supportive infrastructure to employ
biofuels in their vehicles, and the individual farmer will have
an alternative market for their crops.
2.3 Current incentives such as the graduated
vehicle excise duty are designed to reduce carbon emissions, but
from an agricultural perspective, larger engine vehicles are often
essential for everyday use. Increasing tax on these cars, whilst
adding additional financial pressures to our members, is unlikely
to make a significant difference to their choice of vehicles.
Reduced VED should be determined not only on tail pipe emissions
but also on life cycle carbon emissions, this could provide further,
much needed, incentive to use high blend biofuel vehicles.
2.4 The current duty reduction of 20p/litre
for biofuels is important to cover the higher production costs
currently associated with renewable fuels. As the industry develops
and technological advances are made the duty differential may
decrease, however it is important that it runs alongside the RTFO
in the first years of its inception to help stimulate the market
and provide investor confidence. This duty reduction is an important
incentive to encourage the uptake of biofuels, although is not
enough to change behaviour alone. The buyout price (set at 15p/litre)
means that combined with the duty reduction, there will be a support
package of 35p until 2009-10 and then 30p by 2010-11. This package
of measures may not be sufficient to encourage take-up, and there
is a danger that the 15p buy-out price might be sufficiently low
for oil companies to opt out of the obligation. It is important
that this tax policy is constantly reviewed to ensure that it
is having the desired affect, and adapted if it is not.
Question 3. How can Government and other
agencies—at national, regional and local levels—encourage
the uptake of domestic emission reduction measures? What is the
role of community projects in schools and other public institutions?
3.1 Community projects, such as those in
schools offer a significant education opportunity for biomass
heating systems and microgeneration technologies. These types
of projects have an important part to play in "leading by
example" with carbon-saving technologies, and to help overcome
the ignorance of using biomass to generate energy. English Rural
Development Agencies and the Devolved Governments have an important
role to play in developing holistic regional renewable energy
strategies, identifying suitable bioenergy sites and helping foster
markets through planning regulations and public procurement projects.
Question 4. What is the role of NGOs in delivering
the "citizen's agenda" on climate change?
No comment.
Question 5. Are Domestic Tradable Quotas
(also known as personal carbon allowances) a viable option? What
other economic and other incentives for behavioural change might
also be considered?
No comment
National Farmers' Union
September 2006
22 Agriculture in the United Kingdom 2004. Back
23
Climate Change, The UK Programme 2006, HM Government. Back
24
DTI, (2005) Potential for Microgeneration Study and Analysis. Back
25
DTI, (2005) Potential for Microgeneration Study and Analysis. Back
26
ADAS (2005) Farmers' Voice Survey, unpublished summary report
of postal survey. Back
27
Biomass Task Force Report, October 2005. Back
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