Defra ‘behind the curve’ on climate change mitigation

Defra secretary George Eustice is coming under pressure to deliver firm plans for addressing climate change, which could involve further restrictions on agricultural practices.

The Times newspaper has published details of a leaked email which shows that Defra has yet to agree policies to cut agriculture’s 10% contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

See also: Climate change chief calls for food import controls

This is despite instructions from prime minister Boris Johnson for all departments to prepare workable strategies in order to meet the government’s “net-zero” ambition by 2050.

“Defra is currently not on track to deliver against its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets… and does not have an agreed policy pipeline that allows us to meet them,” the leaked memo said.

According to The Times, this poses “significant reputational risks” to Defra, which has reportedly set up a “tiger team” of officials to get back on track.

Agriculture challenges

Agriculture faces particular challenges, with the advisory Climate Change Committee having criticised the relatively slow pace of GHG reductions in recent years.

It has called for changes in farming methods, including reductions in beef and sheep numbers, and a change in emphasis to carbon sequestration and biomass production.

One-fifth of UK farmland should be shifted into tree planting, energy crops and peatland restoration, it said in a 2019 report.

This was intended to help government hit “net zero” by 2050.

But more recently, Boris Johnson has set even tougher targets, aiming for a 78% reduction in GHG emissions for the UK as a whole by 2035, compared with 1990 levels.

The Climate Change Committee has said that farmers will need to be financially rewarded for any measures that emerge to change their practices.

Strict controls will also be needed on food imports if the UK is to avoid simply shifting the climate change issue to other parts of the world, according to committee chair Lord Deben.