GOV WHITE PAPER - RESPONCES

Government Low Carbon Transition Plan
Farming Today
Farming must reduce its carbon emissions by six per cent over the next ten years. The target in the Government's Low Carbon Transition Plan has been criticised by some as being too modest, and welcomed by others as achievable. Charlotte Smith looks into what changes farmers are going to have to make and asks the agriculture minister, Jim Fitzpatrick, and Dr Jonathan Scurlock, NFU chief advisor on renewable energy and climate change if this is a realistic target or if it is too low. Comments from Peter Melchett, Soil Association policy director, are referred to in the interview.
BBC Radio 4, listen again (16 July, from 6mins 42secs)
The Guardian (16 July, pp.6-7)
The low carbon transition plan at a glance
The Guardian (16 July)
Daily Telegraph (front page, pp.4-5)
Comment from Geoffrey Lean: Green 'revolution' left blowing in the wind
Lord Mandelson and Ed Miliband's measures yesterday are too little and too late, argues Geoffrey Lean.
Daily Telegraph (16 July, p.19)
The Times (16 July, pp.16-17)
The Independent (16 July, pp.12-13)
Comment from Peter Melchett, policy director of the Soil Association:
It is good to see farming included in the first formal plan for tackling greenhouse emissions. But the emission reductions planned for farming are incredibly modest, reflecting the Government’s complete lack of a long-term strategy for climate friendly farming. The plan to cut farming emissions by a tiny 6% by 2020 means the farming industry risks having to make massive cuts of over 70% between 2020 and 2050.
The Government themselves admit that farming, land use and waste will only contribute 4% of the emission savings that they hope to make by 2020.
Although the Government claim that their Transition Plan will “help protect the equivalent of over 37 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide that is currently locked into natural reservoirs of carbon in our soils and forests”, the fact is there is nothing new in the plan which will do anything to reduce losses of carbon from our agricultural soils. The Government are certainly understating the case when they say that, for farming, they do not yet “have all the answers”.
Department of Energy and Climate Change press release (15 July)
Link to report: The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan