Opinion: Don’t let boring detail cloud farming’s climate-change vision

As my private jet taxied down the runway to leave Glasgow COP26, it was comforting to note that other great “stop climate change” advocates, such as Prince Charles and Boris Johnson, were also flying out on their own private jets.

Many of us most passionately committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions are busy people and have lots of meetings to get to.

At COP26, I announced, to great acclaim, my farm’s commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Congratulations from other great leaders have poured in to my farm office.

See also: Five supermarkets vow to halve climate impact by 2030

About the author

Stephen Carr

Farmers Weekly Opinion writer

Stephen Carr runs an 800ha beef, sheep and arable farm on the South Downs near Eastbourne in Sussex in partnership with his wife and four of his daughters. He also runs a nearby pub with his nephew, The Sussex Ox, which serves the farm’s beef, lamb, (and fruit and vegetables from the farmhouse kitchen-garden in season) through its restaurant.

Read more articles by Stephen Carr

What a thrill to suddenly find myself on first-name terms with Joe, Narendra and Angela. (It was bit of a shame that Xi and Vladimir didn’t turn up to Glasgow as, between them, China and Russia account for nearly one-third of global emissions. Heigh ho. Next time.)

Climate commitment

Some might have been surprised at my commitment to take my farm net-zero by 2050.

OK, so I’ve got a few methane-belching cows and I spread a bit of ammonium nitrate on my crops occasionally, which leaches nitrous oxide (300 times more global warming than carbon) into the atmosphere.

And yes, I suppose I consume quite a bit of red diesel, busying myself around the farm.

And, try as I might, I can’t help but release carbon and nitrous oxide each time I cultivate the soil.

But to criticise what I’m doing at the moment is to miss the point. Normal farmers, lacking my vision, can’t see beyond existing farming technologies.

So they are baffled, for instance, by how I can so confidently predict that in just a few years time my tractors will all be running on hot air… I mean hydrogen.

Shared vision

I’m glad to say, the NFU shares my vision. They’ve actually gone one better than me, and are committed to UK agriculture being carbon neutral by 2040.

Yes, that’s right, in just 19 years’ time, UK agriculture will be absorbing as much carbon as it’s emitting, despite making virtually no progress whatsoever in that regard since emissions targets were set in 2011.

What an achievement. It’s this infectious optimism that I so love about COP26.

So let’s not get hung up now on the boring detail of how UK farming will quickly become carbon neutral.

Let’s meet next week (or maybe the week after) to discuss how one-third of UK farmland will need to be rewilded; how meat eating will have to be cut by up to half; and how there will have to be similar reductions in consumption of dairy products.

Exciting plans

Let’s not forget the exciting plans we have for the tens of thousands of farmers on all the marginal land out there who, as trees are planted and wolves, lynx, sea eagles, beavers and wild boar are released on their farms, will be “redeployed” in the exciting green economy.

Lucky them, servicing all those wind turbines and polishing those solar panels, 365 days a year. Minette Batters has great presentation skills, so I’m sure she’s up to selling these proposals to her NFU members.

As a climate change visionary, my only disappointment so far is that Greta hasn’t been in touch.

I just hope she’s not lumping me in with those she accuses of just “pretending” to care about climate change by making hollow promises they’ve absolutely no intention of keeping.