Climate change is ‘defining challenge’

Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Edwin Poots MLA has met with the Presidents of all four UK Farming Unions to discuss the challenge of climate change.
Minister Poots is pictured with (left to right) UFU President
Victor Chestnutt, NFU President for Scotland, Martin Kennedy; NFU President for England and Wales, Minette Bridget Batters and NFU Cymru President John DaviesMinister Poots is pictured with (left to right) UFU President
Victor Chestnutt, NFU President for Scotland, Martin Kennedy; NFU President for England and Wales, Minette Bridget Batters and NFU Cymru President John Davies
Minister Poots is pictured with (left to right) UFU President Victor Chestnutt, NFU President for Scotland, Martin Kennedy; NFU President for England and Wales, Minette Bridget Batters and NFU Cymru President John Davies

The Minister spoke to the President of the Ulster Farmers’ Union, Victor Chestnutt; National Farmers Union President for Scotland, Martin Kennedy; National Farmers Union President for England and Wales, Minette Bridget Batters and National Farmers Union Cymru President, John Davies at COP26 in Glasgow.

Minister Poots said: “Climate change is the defining issue of our time and Northern Ireland cannot ignore the changes necessary if we are not only to survive, but thrive. As DAERA Minister, my focus is to ensure we have a sustainable agri-food sector which contributes to a healthy environment and benefits people, nature and the economy in alignment with the Executive’s Green Growth approach.”

He continued: “The agri-food industry is vital in Northern Ireland, it accounts for 30% of our manufacturing sector, employs 113,000 people and contributes £5bn to the rural economy.

“However, agriculture is one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases in Northern Ireland.

“Our farmers are alert to challenges that lie ahead and recognise the important steps that must be taken to ensure the future of our industry; science, technology and innovation will allow us to make a real and significant difference going forward.

“We need to focus on creating a better environment for future generations - reducing carbon and greenhouse gases, looking at how we capture methane and ammonia and how we can utilise these in a better way to improve our air quality, reducing the amount of phosphates getting into our waterways, the reduction of nitrates, using renewable heat instead of fossil fuels, utilising renewable electricity, the removal of plastics and the movement away from the use of diesel engines on farms will all be vital going forward.”

Edwin Poots concluded:“These are all big challenges and it is incumbent upon us to make those achievable at a cost that is acceptable, but I believe if we work together and utilise the science and innovation available to us, we can make a real and lasting difference.

“The agri-industry is already doing positive work to embrace green technology and environmentally-friendly farming practices and, by continuing to work together, we can ensure that farming can move forward into the future.”

UFU president Victor Chestnutt commented: “UK agriculture is a uniquely versatile sector, which supplies food, captures and stores carbon and helps to generate clean energy – it is a key part of the climate change solution. This is a message that we reiterated alongside our UK farming union counterparts during our visit to COP26.

“Our farmers are already contributing significantly to the UK target of net zero by 2050. However, we recognise this can be improved further with the right policy backed by scientific evidence.

“This is essential to continue making positive progress in combating climate change here in Northern Ireland and the UK as a whole, supporting our local farmers to play their vital part without lessening their ability to produce quality, sustainable products to world leading standards.”

Victor Chestnutt has also responded to the COP 26 pledge of world leaders to cut global methane emissions levels by 30% by 2030.

He said:“Methane is a natural by-product from cows due to food digestion therefore it’s very difficult to treat and the UFU is still considering what this announcement means for local farmers. To date, through improvements in animal production and nutrient management, NI farmers have already done good work to reduce methane but we recognise that there is room for further improvement.
“There has been significant research and investment in new technologies that will help us increase our methane reduction on-farm further, but more investment and a long term commitment from Government is needed and it’s vital that our ability to produce high-quality food is not limited by these calls to reduce emissions.

“Also, all trade deals must conform to the same world leading food production standards that is expected of our UK farmers and should include similar commitments in emissions reductions.”

The UFU president concluded: “To continue making positive progress in methane reduction, other methane producers need to take action and we need more accurate methods of measuring methane emissions to understand the true scale of the issue.”