Proceedings

The NFU and net zero: our policy lines
The National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales (NFU) represents the interests of ~55,000 members involved in commercial agriculture, horticulture and farmer controlled businesses.

Given the long-term impact of climate change on our sector, farmers and growers have acknowledged our role in tackling it over the past 10-15 years. Agriculture is uniquely both a source and a sink for greenhouse gas emissions, making good use of the 75% of UK land area under farming.

In 2019, the NFU set out its vision for agriculture to achieve a net zero contribution to climate change across the whole of agricultural production by 2040, focussed on three key themes or ‘pillars’. Farmers own or host over half of UK solar power and AD capacity, as well as the majority of onshore wind power, while playing a significant role in the supply or fuelling of renewable heat and thermal power generation.

Building up soil carbon storage using organic amendments is another element of our ‘portfolio’ approach to net zero agriculture, consistent with good soil health and nutrient management