• Summary & Conclusion
• part 1
• part 2
• part 3
• part 4
• sitemap

THE STATE OF SCOTLAND'S FARMED ENVIRONMENT 2005

10. SCOTTISH AGRICULTURE AND CLIMATE CHANGE

ROLE OF AGRICULTURE

A significant proportion of agricultural emissions are of methane rather than CO 2 . 69% of

Scotland ’s methane emissions arise from agriculture, with cattle responsible for 49%. Between 1990 and 2002 methane emissions fell by 9%, largely resulting from a reduction in the numbers of livestock. This contributed substantially to the overall reduction in agricultural emissions of 12.9% between 1990 and 2002. Scottish agriculture has a direct role in the conservation of soil organic matter which potentially has considerable benefit in terms of avoiding GHG emissions. The effects of agricultural policy e.g. through Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform may have direct impacts e.g. through cross-compliance measures which are a condition of public funding via the Single Farm Payment (SFP) introduced in January 2005, and indirect effects through changes in economic viability of particular enterprises which may lead to reductions of particular types of livestock (e.g. beef cattle) particularly in high-cost areas (e.g. Highlands and Islands). As with the forestry sector, the Forward Strategy for Scottish Agriculture has no specific focus on climate change although it was recognized as a key issue in the AEWG Report.

There are opportunities to integrate climate change mitigation within agricultural policy. However, the ERDC noted that little thought appears to have been given to integrating climate considerations into potentially useful policy mechanisms, such as land management contracts. The ERDC further identified the need to examine the contribution that various strands of land-related policy make to greenhouse gas emissions so that it will be possible to develop feasible and acceptable sectoral targets for reducing land use emissions.

ROLE OF FORESTRY >>