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On Saturday, I mentioned the need for the UK Government to live up to its "greenest government ever" aspirations and to step up for nature. This week, they've taken one big step forward and one little step back.
First the good news...
The Climate Change and Energy Secretary, Chris Huhne MP, announced that the UK Government will accept the Committee on Climate Change’s recent advice on the Fourth Carbon Budget. This will legally commit the UK to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2025.
We're delighted with this. It is the right decision for people and for the planet. We have been worried about this for weeks. We wrote letters, put adverts in papers and RSPB members also lobbied their MPs.
Media reports suggested that some attempted to derail this critical decision on the grounds of cost. It’s true that meeting these targets won’t be free. The Committee advised that it would cost less than 1% of our Gross Domestic Product – a fraction of the costs of doing nothing. This is consistent with what Sir Nicholas Stern concluded in his major assessment of the economic review of climate change back in 2006. Ultimately it comes down to what kind of future we want. The decision puts us on the path to a cleaner, greener planet where wildlife and people are safe from the ravages of unabated global warming.
And now the less good news...
A review of farming red tape did not end up offering the bonfire of the regulations we feared. There are, however, some worrying recommendations (including a proposal for farmland to be made exempt from the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) directive). I think my colleague, Gareth Morgan, summed it up rather well in his comment to the Guardian -
"The taskforce was set up to find ways to deregulate first, and to maintain standards second. But it should have been the other way round - ministers should be asking how can we find a way to do better for society, and if necessary we will regulate to do so. I'm worried about the government's approach."
There are lots of opportunities on the horizon for the Government to take more steps for nature (including the launches of the Natural Environment White Paper and England Biodiversity Strategy in June). We're expecting these announcements to offer practical help for nature. I hope we will not be disappointed.
Hi Martin well farmers need lots of things but two are connected with this blog,one is we definitely need less red tape without making environment and wildlife worse off but the way RSPB has lambasted this lessening of red tape has not been helpful and especially has it now turns out nothing like the RSPB guessed it would be,better not to guess and wait to see what is proposed.
The other thing is farmers need the RSPB to come clean,do you dislike us or like us because you just cannot go on telling us you do not hate us while always someone at RSPB having a right go at us,even past conservation officer had to have a right go at farmers after telling us he did not hate us.COME CLEAN ON WHERE THE RSPB STANDS,then we would be able to move forward in a more understandable way,we do not mind one way or the other but lets get this mistrust out of the way.
Do not misunderstand the fact that farmers are here to essentially produce food at a price the british public can afford and that is priority number one and conservation of one form or another is while being important in the long run is definitely number two and no amount of critisism from RSPB will make that the priority and in fact what no one at the RSPB has so far understood is that they are by constant critisism just really p****** farmers off and having the effect of farmers in general disliking the RSPB and not bothering with helping birds.
This makes it a very sad story and considering the brains and substantial salarys at the top of RSPB why cannot they see the problem their constant carping creates.
It is now here in black and white so as I know all at the top of RSPB can read there is in future no excuse.whether you like the NFU or not is irrelevant as lots of farmers do not belong that organisation and anyway farmers are quite capable of doing things as individuals.