The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) is calling for a major shift in UK land use to deliver Net Zero emissions in its first ever in-depth advice to the Government on UK agricultural policies - and wants to see water companies mandated to restore peatland under their ownership.

The Committee’s new report, Land use: Policies for a Net Zero UK, presents a detailed range of options to drive emissions reductions in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In 2017, land use – including agriculture, forestry and peatland – accounted for 12% of total UK greenhouse gas emissions. By 2050, with the right support, the CCC says farmers and land-managers can reduce these emissions by almost two thirds.

Water companies should be mandated to restore peatland under their ownership

The report says the removal of peat sediment and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from degraded peatlands represents a large cost in water treatment for water utilities and that research is ongoing to determine the impact of restoring degraded peatlands in reducing water company costs.

According to the report, upland peat restoration to date has been driven by Agri-environment schemes, with farmers mainly paid to reduce stocking rates. The other main mechanism has come from catchment-scale restoration to improve water quality by the water companies who have invested an estimated £45 million between 2005 and 2015 in upland restoration, often in partnership with conservation organisations.

The report also highlights the fact that the water companies themselves are large land owners, which includes a lot of upland peat in the north and north-west of England, and smaller areas in the south-west, citing United Utilities ownership of 56,000 hectares of land and Yorkshire Water’s ownership of 27,553 hectares of catchment land, of which around 8,000 hectares is peat.

The Committee is calling for water companies to be mandated to restore peatland under their ownership. It also wants to see a requirement for internal drainage boards to maintain optimal water table levels.

A spokesperson for Water UK, the body which represents all the UK water companies, commented:

“The Committee on Climate Change is absolutely right about the radical change needed in this country on using land differently so that we can reduce and store carbon. It’s an issue water companies have been devoting a lot of time and effort to, because in England alone the companies own 140,000 hectares of land which include vital carbon stores such as peat bogs. The water industry in England has made a commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 – the only major industry in the world to do so. As part of this, water companies have pledged to plant 11 million trees over the next decade, while many are also working with partners to restore and preserve our peat bogs as vital carbon stores.”

Launching the report, Lord Deben, Chairman of the Committee on Climate Change, said:

“Changing the way we use our land is critical to delivering the UK’s Net Zero target. The options we are proposing would see farmers and land managers – the stewards of the land – delivering actions to reduce emissions. Doing so can provide new revenue opportunities for farmers, better air quality and improved biodiversity, and more green spaces for us all to enjoy. But major changes are required and action from government is needed quickly if we are to reap the rewards.”

The Committee’s in-depth analysis shows that emissions from UK land use can be reduced by 64% to around 21 MtCO2e by 2050. The report demonstrates that this can be achieved without producing less food in the UK or increasing imports from elsewhere.

According to the CCC, there will also be important benefits to biodiversity and water quality. Although these are not easy to value in monetary terms and are not included “due to the difficulty in quantifying them.” biodiversity and water quality improvements are nevertheless important and are discussed qualitatively in the report.

There are five objectives for new policy:

• Increase tree planting – increasing UK forestry cover from 13% to at least 17% by 2050 by planting around 30,000 hectares (90 – 120 million trees) of broadleaf and conifer woodland each year.
• Encourage low-carbon farming practices – such as ‘controlled-release’ fertilisers, improving livestock health and slurry acidification.
• Restore peatlands – restoring at least 50% of upland peat and 25% of lowland peat.
• Encourage bioenergy crops – expanding UK energy crops to around 23,000 hectares each year.
• Reduce food waste and consumption of the most carbon-intensive foods – reduce the 13.6 million tonnes of food waste produced annually by 20% and the consumption of beef, lamb and dairy by at least 20% per person, well within current healthy eating guidelines.

The Committee is proposing a mix of regulations and incentives to drive the changes and provide land managers with the long-term clarity they need. The actions identified would release around one-fifth of agricultural land for actions that reduce emissions and store carbon. 

The Committee’s assessment shows that the measures carry a total cost of around £1.4 billion per year, generating wider benefits of £4bn per year. Much of this funding can be provided privately – the total cost should be met through a combination of public and private funding. This will be a key consideration for the Treasury in its Net Zero Review of costs. At present, the UK deploys £3.3bn each year through the Common Agricultural Policy.

Click here to download Land use: Policies for a Net Zero UK