Responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement that the government will aim for at least a 68 percent reduction in UK greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade, NFU Deputy President Stuart Roberts said: “It’s great to see the Prime Minister setting an ambitious interim target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the UK.

“Climate change is both an immediate and long-term threat and as a country we need to take action now to mitigate its impact. That is why British farmers are already working to become net zero by 2040. We want to be world leaders in climate-friendly food production and pave the way for other nations to follow.

“I believe that agriculture has a key role to play in reaching the government’s targets. As both a source of emissions and a sink, we have a unique ability to counter-balance our emissions by drawing carbon out of the atmosphere and storing it in farmland or bio-based materials – opportunities which most other industries just don’t have.

“We believe we can reach net zero by 2040 by taking action on three fronts: boosting productivity to bring down our emissions, storing carbon on farmland, and delivering more renewable energy and bio-based materials. By working towards these, British farming can very much be part of the solution to climate change.”