Government promises low-carbon farming action plan

The government yesterday announced a series of measures as part of its low-carbon transition plan designed to ensure that the UK's agricultural sector plays a central role in efforts to cut carbon emissions.

The government's new carbon budgets require about five per cent of the emission cuts that are expected to be delivered by 2020 to come from farming, land and waste management efforts.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change said that to achieve these cuts, it would for the first time set a target for emission reductions from agriculture and agree an action plan with the sector detailing how best to deliver carbon cuts.

It also said that it will set up a new advisory service to help farmers embrace low-carbon methods and, should EU state aid laws allow it, increase financial support for the sector by extending the Carbon Trust's interest-free green loan scheme to the farming sector.

The new strategy was accompanied by the publication of a series of recommendations from the recently formed Anaerobic Digestion Task Group. It called on the government to ensure the technology is eligible for support through planned renewable heat and electricity feed-in tariffs, set up a new regulatory framework governing anaerobic digestors, and accelerate the rollout of demonstration projects.

Anaerobic digestion technologies, which use organic and agricultural waste to generate heat and electricity, are widely regarded as an effective means of curbing methane emissions, while generating zero-carbon power.

Environment minister Dan Norris welcomed the task group's recommendations and reiterated the government's view that the technology can play a key role in the UK's renewable energy mix.

"Anaerobic digestion has the potential to enhance the green economy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and waste going to landfill," he said. "We will look carefully at all the recommendations and respond to them fully later this year."