Scottish Farmers Lead The Climate Change Charge

Scottish farmers are delivering on their commitment to produce more food while impacting less on the environment according to the latest greenhouse gas emission figures from the Scottish Government.

Since 1990, greenhouse gas emissions from Scottish agriculture have fallen by more than 22 percent while food production has been stable and in some sectors has increased.   This puts the industry well on track to making a major contribution to Scotland’s Climate Change Delivery Plan, which proposes a national reduction target of 42 percent in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 across all sectors and industries.

In fact, the progress being made by agriculture on reducing emissions puts it amongst the top performing sectors in Scotland.

NFU Scotland’s Chief Executive James Withers, who also sits on Scotland’s 2020 Climate Change Group said:

“As a sector, we reacted positively to the world leading climate change targets set for Scotland and gave ourselves the challenge of producing more from less.   These latest figures show that we are delivering on that challenge, that we are performing as well as – if not better than - a number of other key contributing industries and that we are well on our way to meeting our 2020 targets.

“Accurately recording the performance of agriculture with regards to greenhouse gases is complicated, not least because some relevant figures on both emissions and valuable carbon capture are rolled into other categories.   However, today’s figures are a good indicator of the progress being made.

“As an industry, we can be pleased with what we have achieved to date, but we are very much aware that there is more to be done. And it is that next step in delivering further efficiencies on which we are now focussed.

“Much of what can and should be done will be measures which, regardless of their beneficial

environmental effects will - first and foremost - make business sense to our primary producers.   In its simplest definition, an emission is a waste to a system; energy that has been lost and could have been utilised. The simple message for farmers is that to reduce emissions is to reduce waste and, therefore, improve efficiency.

“In June this year, NFU Scotland in conjunction with QMS and SAOS launched a joint industry commitment on climate change.   We continue to work with our partners with a view to delivering some simple efficient, energy-saving messages to farmers that will ensure that current momentum on reducing emissions continues.”  

Notes to Editors

• The full Scottish Government publication on Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2008 can be accessed at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/GHG08
• A copy of the NFUS, SAOS and QMS document ‘A Joint Commitment on Climate Change’ can be found at: http://www.nfus.org.uk/uploadedFiles/Campaigns/Climate_Change.pdf

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Contact Bob Carruth on 0131 470 4006