The co-benefits of reducing agricultural emissions

Last week we hosted the first in a series of briefings on the future of agriculture, with expert contributions from the Climate Change Committee, the Office for Environmental Protection, Pesticide Action Network UK, and the Soil Association.

The opening session explored how current farming practices and chemical use are not only contributing to greenhouse gas emissions but also degrading soils, polluting water, and harming ecosystems – with long-term implications for both human and planetary health.

Although agricultural emissions have fallen c. 12% since 1990, progress has stalled in the last decade. The sector remains one of the leading drivers of nature and biodiversity loss and accounts for c. 11% of the UK’s total emissions, and by 2040 it is expected to be one of the main sources of UK emissions.

CCC graph: Sources of agriculture emissions, Seventh Carbon Budget

Where next?

A strong theme emerging from the session was that, with the right support and incentives, farmers can reduce emissions and chemical use while delivering multiple co-benefits for nature and society and importantly continue to produce the food we need.

If properly supported, meeting net zero will not only provide opportunities for farmers to diversify land use and income streams, whilst improving farming practices and continuing to produce food, it can also deliver wider co-benefits including improving air quality, water quality, restoring biodiversity, improving food security and increasing the resilience of land to climate impacts.

With multiple forthcoming Government plans on the horizon, including a Land Use Framework and a 25-year farming roadmap – there is a real opportunity to put in place a blueprint in the coming months to secure the future of farming and unlock multiple co-benefits for nature and society.