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25 Mar 2009 : Column 136WH—continued
5.15 pm
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Jane Kennedy): First and foremost, may I say how delighted I am to see you in the Chair this afternoon, Mr. Benton? Not only is it always a pleasure to see you in the Chair; it is a pleasure to be reassured about the robust state of your health. It is good to see you here.
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol, East (Kerry McCarthy) on securing this debate in the momentary and wonderful lull in the terrible noise from that person across the road. I put it on the record that I regret that I could not properly follow the debate on asbestos led by the hon. Member for Rochdale (Paul Rowen) and the Under-Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth, North (Sarah McCarthy-Fry), because of the intrusive nature of the noise. I hope that the House
authorities look again at seeing what could be done, particularly in respect of debates in this Chamber because we are much closer to it. People have the right to protest, but we should be able to carry on our business properly.
My hon. Friend the Member for Bristol, East rightly said at the outset that she was a vegan but that that was not the primary reason for calling this debate. It is an important debate in its own right. She has put on the record that she is a vegan, and I respect her views on food, but I have to say that I am not. I suspect that my mum was probably introducing me to meat as a food even before I can remember: she probably fed me home-made shepherd’s pie as she was weaning me. All I can say is that I have stuck with it.
Traditionally, here in the UK meat is an important source of protein, iron, calcium, zinc and other vitamins and minerals. I have a lot of sympathy with those who say that there is no such thing as bad food, that it is the diet that we get wrong and that we need a balanced diet and must exercise greater portion control. Delia Smith was arguing for that just the other day and I think that she is right.
My hon. Friend quoted an American who said that, in order to help deal with climate change, it would be better to become vegetarian or vegan than to change from a high-performance car to a hybrid car. I had better get it on the record and say that I am not going to do that either, I am afraid. Having blotted my copybook quite seriously from the outset—
Kerry McCarthy: I should like to put on the record that I drive a Smart car.
Jane Kennedy: Now we have got that clear.
My hon. Friend has raised a pertinent, important and challenging subject not just for the agricultural sector. Climate change is a challenging issue across the British economy, particularly at a time when the economy is under such pressure from other reasons—the global pressures on our economy—that we now know about all too well. We must not be pushed off this important agenda. It is important that we continue to focus on the factors that impact on climate change.
My hon. Friend mentioned the Food Futures report. Another study has estimated that across the European Union, total food consumption and production—not just livestock and meat production—accounts for between 20 and 30 per cent. of our climate change impacts. Our national inventory of greenhouse gas emissions tells us that the whole agriculture sector contributed about 7 per cent. of our total greenhouse gas emissions in 2006. About half that 7 per cent. comes from the livestock sector. Worldwide, as my hon. Friend quoted, livestock accounts for around 18 per cent. of greenhouse gas emissions.
Farming has a unique place in our country’s way of life. We often say that farmers are the guardians of the countryside. They are part of our national identity. Perhaps most importantly, they help to feed us. The hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) was right to say that the more local food we eat, the better in terms of air miles. Occasionally, however, there are instances such as the recent change in the availability of carrots, when we had to import carrots
because of poor weather. I shall say in a moment that farmers are on the front line and are the first to be affected by climate change. A balance must be struck to ensure that growth and production are sustainable not only in tackling climate change, but in the circumstances facing all sectors of British business, particularly farming, which is my Government responsibility. Farming is on the front line and is the first to feel the effects.
Climate change is one of the most important challenges facing us. The Climate Change Act 2008 commits us to an 80 per cent. reduction in all greenhouse gases by 2050. That is a challenging target, but all sectors of the economy, including the livestock sectors, must play a part in helping to meet the target. Some progress has been made, and between 1990 and 2006 emissions from the livestock sector declined by 18 per cent. due to a decline in emissions from enteric fermentation, agricultural waste disposal and agricultural soils. There is a risk that reducing direct emissions from agriculture could reduce UK production, with a resulting increase in food imports, thereby simply exporting our emissions and perhaps even increasing them. We are aware of that risk, and we want to ensure that UK agriculture improves its environmental impact without becoming less productive. We must assess the full impact of any measures to reduce emissions, to ensure that we do not simply export the problem and that action to reduce greenhouse gases does not conflict with other environmental goals.
Tim Farron: Does the Minister accept that most land used for livestock farming at the moment is unusable for other farming purposes, such as crops, and that much farm land, particularly in the uplands, is vital to carbon sequestration and fighting climate change from that angle? Furthermore, with £10.2 billion of food being wasted in the UK every year, does she accept that now is the time for serious investment in anaerobic digestion, as the hon. Member for Bristol, East said, to help farmers tackle climate change?
Jane Kennedy: I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman. It is scary to be in such close agreement with him, but I am. I also agree with his point about anaerobic digestion, and I shall come to that in a moment if I have time.
Emissions from the livestock sector have declined by 18 per cent. and are projected to continue to fall to 32 per cent. below 1990 levels by 2010, which is real and significant progress, but after 2010 they are projected to rise again, so there is urgent need for action, and that is true of all sectors of the economy. In taking forward solutions to these issues, the Government must work in close partnership with the industry. DEFRA is already working collaboratively with the dairy supply chain through the road map process to reduce the environmental impact of milk production and consumption in the UK. The road map includes some important action for the entire supply chain, including challenging targets on the reduction of greenhouse gas balance from dairy farms, as well as setting targets to reduce water usage and to improve waste disposal.
The meat industry is working on a similar road map for meat production. Helping all sectors of the economy to address climate change is a key priority for the Government. We fully recognise the challenges associated with tackling greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector as part of maintaining a sustainable and viable
industry. Our agriculture and climate change work stream under the Farming Futures programmes—my hon. Friend will know about them—aims to address the challenges associated with tackling greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector and agriculture as a whole.
We continue to work directly with the sector to ensure that farmers are fully aware of the effects of climate change, and are well equipped to change their practices to reduce emissions and make their businesses more resilient to the impact of climate change. We are doing that through our rural climate change forum, our high-level stakeholder group, which provides valuable advice on policy, research and communications for climate change and land management. All the major stakeholders in the farming, forestry and land management sectors are represented on that group.
We understand how important it is for farmers to have easily accessible information on climate change, and we have funded the Farming Futures communications project since 2006 to provide farmers with practical advice on the impact of climate change and on how to take action to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The project has produced a series of fact sheets and case studies, including some on reducing emissions from the livestock sector. In addition, a series of regional workshops for farmers has been held.
We are mindful that our 80 per cent. emissions reduction target is ambitious, and the unique nature of the agricultural sector makes it even more challenging for it fully to play its part. The Committee on Climate Change has recently identified the technical abatement potential for the agriculture, forestry and land management sectors, and we are working with the Committee, the rural climate change forum and other stakeholders to develop the policy framework that we will need to have in place to ensure that those identified savings are realised.
It is important to note that some measures to tackle climate change in this sector provide real benefits not just for climate change, but for other environmental objectives, such as biodiversity and water, soil and air quality. Anaerobic digestion is a subject that we could spend all day discussing. It is a good example of win-win technology, and we are driving it forward. It could help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the use of manures, slurries and other organic matter, such as food waste. Some innovative ideas are emerging on how to turn food waste from supermarkets to good use—
5.27 pm
Sitting adjourned without Question put (Standing Order No. 10(11)).
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