Today (Monday 4 April) the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is due to release a new report with recommendations for climate change mitigation.
On the same day the Soil Association is launching its report ‘Regenerate Now‘, which sets out what action is needed from the UK government to tackle the climate, nature and health crises. It calls for a shift to nature-friendly, agroecological farming and sustainable diets.
Commenting on the new IPCC report, Soil Association Head of Food Policy Rob Percival said:
“Efforts to reach net zero emissions and halt climate change will fail if they do not also halt the destruction of nature and diet-related poor health. It’s hugely disappointing that as the IPCC was making its recommendations, governments again failed to establish meaningful targets for saving biodiversity, such as reducing chemical pesticides and fossil fuel derived fertilisers.
“The deterioration of climate, nature and public heath are inextricably linked, and we know that the way we produce and consume food is driving these crises. As detailed in our new ‘Regenerate Now’ report, governments have made many commitments but achieved little in tackling these issues and this must be the decade of delivery.
“We know that nature-friendly, agroecological farming can sustainably feed our population, restore nature, and slash farming emissions. But to do this the UK must stop hiding from the need to shift to healthy and sustainable diets, with our entire food chain transformed and farmers supported to transition to nature based solutions across their entire farms – not just around the edges.
“If we had invested in this a decade ago, citizens and farmers might be less exposed now to the spike in fuel, fertiliser, and food prices, and we would be growing more fresh and healthy produce for those who need it the most.”
The Soil Association calls for:
- Robust, legally binding targets to reduce use of pesticide and synthetic nitrogen fertilisers.
- A surge in investment in farmer-led research into alternatives to chemical inputs, and support for farmers to adopt these methods through peer-to-peer learning and training.
- Funding and training to spark a farmer-led tree revolution, with forests and farm woodlands managed regeneratively and trees combined with crops and animals in agroforestry systems.
- A robust Food Bill response to adopt the recommendations from the National Food Strategy, sparking a shift to shorter, more resilient supply chains that supports a wholesale shift to agroecological farming across the UK.