Agriculture and food production contribute a large portion of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, account for approximately 20% of the world's total emissions. In Scotland, the picture is no different, where they contribute around a quarter of the total GHG emissions. Hence, it is important to address the transitions needed in these sectors in order to tackle climate change.
In this blog, Iasmim discusses a number of measures that have been recently proposed, or implemented, to help agriculture and food production to be more sustainable. A transition of practices needs to be just for everyone, and Iasmim considers both the opportunities and challenges ahead for this sector.
Alongside other activities, agriculture and food production are associated with the major pollutant gases, namely CO2 (carbon dioxide), CH4 (methane) and N2O (nitrous oxide). Unsustainable practices increase emissions and can have a direct impact on the functioning and health of our ecosystems. In Scotland, for example, changes in temperature and rainfall have already been observed, and farming businesses and landscapes shaped by agriculture are already being affected by the impact of unseasonable weather, floods and prolonged droughts.
To minimise and adapt to the impacts of climate change, governments have established GHG emissions reduction targets and implemented actions with those affected. The Scottish Government has set a target date for net zero emissions of all GHGs by 2045 and a 75% reduction in emissions by 2030.
Scotland's targets are ambitious and require quick action. On one hand, we have already demonstrated significant progress in reducing emissions (e.g., 45.4% less CO2 emissions between 1990 and 2018). However on the other, and like other countries, Scotland faces the challenge of maintaining/increasing the pace of this reduction because between 2017 and 2018, for example, there was still a 1.5% increase in GHG emissions.
Therefore, the Scottish Government is working with scientific forecasts to accelerate the pace of reducing GHG emissions. Agriculture, for example, still needs to be four times faster than historical reductions. Success will require a considerable transition of agricultural practices and food production, and we’ll need to ensure that this transition process is just for everyone in order to both promote the health of the environment and the well-being of the population. While it is a challenging process, there are several opportunities to help with this transition.
Opportunities for transition in agriculture and food production
The Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 provide the principles of a just transition in different sectors, which includes agriculture and food production. A Just Transition Commission was established in the same year to ensure that the process of change is carried out in partnership with those who are impacted the most, such as rural communities, farmers and workers.
As part of this collective action, Scotland promoted its first Citizens' Assembly focused on climate change. The Assembly brought together more than 100 citizens from across Scotland to deliberate action on the issue, resulting in 81 recommendations. Among them was that the government should work with the farming community to develop a subsidy regime that encourages farmers to transition to more sustainable land management practices, and this is to be fully implemented in the next 5 years. These approaches reinforce the importance of people, industry and policy working together in the transition process.
At SEFARI we also know we can learn from others and in 2019, SEFARI researcher, Annabel Pinker (James Hutton Institute) undertook a Gateway Fellowship with the Just Transition Commission. Her work resulted in a report on the interventions governments have made in other countries that seek to manage or minimize the impacts caused by structural changes when trying to achieve a carbon neutral economy. Although the report doesn't incorporate transitions in agriculture, it does present evidence on how a just process may be promoted and this could help to underpin ongoing actions by the Scottish Government.
In an agricultural transition process, technologies and collaborative practices to reduce GHG emissions are needed, as well as additional research. SEFARI researchers, for example, have been working both on improving existing GHG reduction measures in agriculture and on identifying new possibilities.
Improvements include agility in the formulation and application of policies on greenhouse gas mitigation to facilitate the acceptance and adoption of new practices in agriculture and food production. Thus, accelerating and expanding the transition through "win-win" practices.
While an example of new possibilities SEFARI researchers have suggested, is the introduction of legumes into conventional cereal and oilseed rotations. These modified rotations can provide human and animal nutrition at a lower environmental cost, as they increase protein production and overall nutritional output, while reducing the input of synthetic fertilizers.
Research will help but participating in dialogue, such as those that took place at COP26, is also needed to effectively inform the roght actions needed for the transition.
COP26
The contribution of agriculture and food production to climate change was discussed during COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Glasgow last year, and SEFARI researchers hosted and participated in some of the panel discussions. For example, colleagues discussed the opportunities and challenges of the measures being proposed (and that have already been implemented) to improve agricultural and food systems, so we can help to make sure they are ‘just’ and more sustainable.
The panels 'Achieving a Just Transition for Rural Scotland', held on 6 November 2021, and 'Carbon pricing & fiscal policies for a just agriculture & food transition?', held on 8 November 2021, for example, contribute to a broad debate on what the transition process requires and how countries should consider the implications for those working or living in rural areas.
At the first event on the 6th, speakers included Jane Atterton, Rural Policy Centre Manager (Scotland’s Rural College), Theona Morrison, Acting Chair (Scottish Rural Action), Jim Hume, Director of Policy & Public Affairs (Support in Mind Scotland), Jane Craigie, Director and Co-founder (Rural Youth Project), Jackie Brierton, Chief Executive Officer (GrowBiz Scotland), and Mags Currie, Senior Social Scientist (James Hutton Institute). Chaired by Charles Bestwick, Director (SEFARI Gateway), the debate was focused on the importance of the context of local people in rural Scotland when developing a just transition process and particularly on community-led practices.
At the second event on the 8th, speakers included Helena Wright, Policy Director (FAIRR), Jeroom Remmers, Director (TAPP Coalition), Elizabeth Gulugulu, youth representative (YOUNGO) and youth constituency to the UNFCCC, Steven Thomson, Agricultural Economist (SEFARI Gateway-SRUC), Jana Fremming, Environmental Action Germany (Deutsche Umwelt Hilfe), and Martin Kennedy, president of the National Farmer Union (NFU Scotland). The debate was moderated by Mike Robinson (CEO of RSGS and Chairperson of Perth City Leadership Forum) and discussions focused on suggested measures to accelerate the reduction of GHG emissions from agriculture and food production. For example, diversification of food production (plant-based meat), improving grazing management, and more radical measures such as introducing a meat tax were debated.
How to achieve a just transition in agriculture and food production?
What all this research, reports, actions and debates have in common is that they all aim to tackle climate change by implementing and maximizing sustainable practices with the broad involvement of groups, communities and individuals in rural areas. People must be at the centre of the transition process. Moreover, it is with their involvement that the rapid adoption of sustainable practices is achieved, which not only Scotland but the world needs.
By Iasmim Amiden, who was recently on work placement with SEFARI Gateway and is pursuing her MSc in Science Communication and Public Engagement at the University of Edinburgh.
SEFARI is always eager to hear from those directly affected by the topics discussed in this blog and you can always contact us via info@sefari.scot. Your input could help to inform our ongoing activities.