UK Legislations on Agriculture’s Impacts and Deforestation A Global Leader
The British Government is getting serious about fighting climate change.
Reports have surfaced that the UK plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 as part of its plans to reduce emissions.
This is on top of a flurry of announcements from Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office.
On blue carbon, the Prime Minister declared that the UK has achieved its target to protect 4 million sq km of ocean in the Overseas Territories, as Tristan da Cunha announced a new massive Marine Protection Zone.
Closer to home and on British agriculture, the government announced a Landmark Agriculture Law which stated:
'The Agriculture Bill sets out how farmers and land managers in England will be rewarded in the future with public money for “public goods” – such as better air and water quality, thriving wildlife, soil health, or measures to reduce flooding and tackle the effects of climate change, under the Environmental Land Management scheme. These incentives will provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan and our commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050.'
The goals of the new legislation are “aimed at incentivising sustainable farming practices, creating habitats for nature recovery and supporting the establishment of new woodland and other ecosystem services to help tackle challenges like climate change.”
Reports have surfaced that the UK plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 as part of its plans to reduce emissions.
This is on top of a flurry of announcements from Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office.
On blue carbon, the Prime Minister declared that the UK has achieved its target to protect 4 million sq km of ocean in the Overseas Territories, as Tristan da Cunha announced a new massive Marine Protection Zone.
Closer to home and on British agriculture, the government announced a Landmark Agriculture Law which stated:
'The Agriculture Bill sets out how farmers and land managers in England will be rewarded in the future with public money for “public goods” – such as better air and water quality, thriving wildlife, soil health, or measures to reduce flooding and tackle the effects of climate change, under the Environmental Land Management scheme. These incentives will provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan and our commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050.'
The goals of the new legislation are “aimed at incentivising sustainable farming practices, creating habitats for nature recovery and supporting the establishment of new woodland and other ecosystem services to help tackle challenges like climate change.”
The full impacts of these ambitions will not be known until their implementation but it certainly gives the UK bragging rights to be a leader in fighting climate change when it hosts COP26.
Extending the UK Influence over tropical forests
Most interesting of all the recent announcements from the UK government is a new law governing its imports which stated that:
“The UK will go further than ever before to clamp down on illegal deforestation and protect rainforests, the government has confirmed today, thanks to world-leading new laws being introduced through the landmark Environment Bill (11 November).
The move coincides with the publication of a new report setting out government’s approach to tackling deforestation linked to UK demand for products such as cocoa, rubber, soya, and palm oil. The report responds to the recommendations from the independent Global Resource Initiative Taskforce, which consulted over 200 leading businesses and organisations.”
Full press release from the UK government can be accessed on this link.
The Environment Bill has its fair share of critics who labelled it “seriously flawed.” It was welcomed by the Fairtrade Foundation which suggested that the bill expand its influence from forests to the rights of small farmers and workers who produce what the UK imports.
There is a very obvious connection between poverty in developing tropical countries and deforestation. Indonesia for example, found that 3.1 million hectares or about 19 per cent of the country's total oil palm plantations, are operating without permits in forest areas.
From our experience in Indonesia, it is not only palm oil that causes illegal deforestation. The deep poverty that confronts millions of Indonesians leads to desperate acts which they know are criminal but as the local saying goes, “when the stomach is empty, anything is OK.”
How will the UK balance the opinions of green groups like Greenpeace with that of human rights groups like The Fairtrade Foundation? A balance is needed if the UK Environment Bill is to deliver on its potential to be a leader in global sustainability and this bill looks like a great way forward.
Showing the EU a path towards global sustainability
The UK position on reducing the impact of its citizens on tropical deforestation is something the EU should copy. Mind you the post Brexit UK can form decisive policies much quicker than the multi-stakeholder EU which is still in a consultative phase to figure out what the union should be doing in terms of achieving climate neutrality.
The internal struggles of Germany, as the powerhouse in the EU, needs clear direction which the UK has provided. Germany’s phase out of coal was seen as an unacceptable baby step as the country favored its own production of lignite over biofuels which German farmers could have provided. Cheap beer for German drinkers rather than emissions reductions is obviously more important to the current German administration.
We wrote previously on the Malaysian Palm Oil Council’s call that all vegetable oils should be treated fairly. It is doubtful that this demand which was addressed to the European Union will be considered especially if Germany is ready to sacrifice its rapeseed farmers over fossil fuels.
The Malaysian palm oil industry should be encouraged by the British government’s ambitions towards a sustainable economy. After all this time, its calls for fair treatment of palm oil is being answered by the UK when the British government targets not only vegetable oils but all commodities consumed by Britons.
Lead on Great Britain. Lead on.
Published November 2020. CSPO Watch