NFU Scotland has welcomed a move by Scottish Government to reject advice from the UK Climate Change Committee (CCC) on agriculture and commit instead to a climate strategy that reflects the realities of Scottish land use, food production and rural life.
Last week, stretching limits on the amount of greenhouse gases Scotland will emit over the coming decades were announced as part of action to tackle climate change.
The Carbon Budgets propose five-year, statutory limits on emissions from 2026 to 2045. The proposed budgets are in line with the advice from the CCC and the Scottish Government’s own assessments. The average level of emissions for Scotland over each five-year period are:
- 57% lower than 1990 levels for 2026 – 2030
- 69% lower than 1990 levels for 2031- 2035
- 80% lower than 1990 levels for 2036 – 2040
- 94% lower than 1990 levels for 2041 – 2045
Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy Gillian Martin said, “Scotland is now halfway to our 2045 climate change target and is ahead of the UK as a whole in reducing long term emissions.
“While we welcome the UK CCC’s advice on how to stay within these limits, as they make clear, it is always for Scotland to decide whether those policies are right for us.
“This means, for example, that we will chart our own path on forestry, going further than the CCC suggest. And, to ensure we protect rural communities and have a thriving rural economy, we will not adopt all their recommendations on agriculture and peatland and will instead meet our targets in a way which works for rural Scotland, including supporting and protecting our iconic livestock industries.
“These Carbon Budgets keep Scotland at the forefront of efforts to protect the planet and our Climate Change Plan will ensure the action we take is fair, ambitious and capable of rising to the emergency before us.”
Grazing livestock are part of the solution
NFUS had urged ministers to reject the CCC’s narrow proposals that feature livestock reduction as a key element of the pathway to net zero and instead commit to a realistic, fully funded plan that supports food production, nature and rural livelihoods in tandem.
NFU Scotland Vice President Duncan Macalister said, “Farmers are already cutting emissions and increasing efficiencies – not by reducing output, but by improving how we produce food. It’s about net zero, not zero emissions,” said Macalister.
“Grazing livestock are part of the solution, not the problem – especially when managed well in pasture-based systems like ours. The government now needs to say clearly: how will future support reflect that reality and where does livestock fit in a climate-smart farming future?”
Earlier this week, NFU Scotland met with the Climate Change Committee to discuss how farming can contribute to climate goals without undermining food production, biodiversity or rural livelihoods.
The Union has urged the Scottish Government to set out a clear policy framework that recognises the essential role of livestock in Scotland’s land use and food systems – ensure future agricultural support enables low-emission production, rather than penalising farmers for producing food – and reject any advice that undermines food security or destabilises rural areas, especially in upland and marginal communities.
NFU Scotland will continue pressing for a just, practical transition that supports farmers to lead, not carry the burden.