SAC Report Has Important Role To Play In Climate Change Policy Says Task Force

Main Category: Water - Air Quality / Agriculture
Article Date: 01 Dec 2008 - 5:00 PST

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Work carried out by the Scottish Agricultural College on the options and cost implications of carbon budgeting for agriculture and land use has a key role to play in future climate change policy decisions, the industry-wide Climate Change Task Force said today.

The work was commissioned to help inform members of the independent Committee on Climate Change. Lord Adair Turner is due to publish the committee's inaugural report today (Monday) and the Task Force will be looking very carefully at how the SAC report has been interpreted in it.

The SAC analysis, which looks at the economically feasible abatement potential for cropping and animal husbandry, offers a basis for current policy discussions around managing the GHG emissions from the agricultural sector and is to be welcomed, according to the Task Force.

In a joint statement the Task Force said: "Cost management is an essential part of the process as well as highlighting those measures that could lead to displacement of production without any benefit in terms of reducing global GHG emissions. This report addresses both of these key points.

"The SAC report estimates that by 2012, technical progress can abate GHG emissions by around six per cent of current levels. This is entirely consistent with the industry's recommendations in the Task Force report released earlier this year - 'Part of the Solution'.

"It is still early days to know whether the projections for 2022 of 25 per cent savings in GHGs are feasible. Achieving these will be dependent on the scientific and technical excellence being both available and successfully applied on-farm. Production levels in 2022 will also need to be factored in which could off-set, to some degree, the savings that are made per unit of production. The Task Force also regrets the exclusion of biomass production and other bioenergy options in agriculture from the headline figures on GHG mitigation in the SAC report."

The Task Force will continue to take a key role in discussing how the details of the SAC report are used in the development of Defra's Climate Change policies through the Rural Climate Change Forum.

Notes

1. The Climate Change Task force was launched in January 2007.

2. The Task Force has already recommended a number of future priorities for the industry in order to address climate change in the agricultural and land management sector. It met with the Committee on Climate Change earlier this year to discuss issues.

National Farmers Union