UK farming unions have issued a joint statement calling for support for farmers to facilitate sustainable agriculture ahead of COP28.
The unions are comprised of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), NFU Cymru, NFU Scotland and the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU).
COP28, the 28th annual United Nations climate meeting where governments discuss climate change, will be held in Dubai from November 30 until December 12, 2023.
Presidents of the unions said farmers are “ready and willing” to alleviate the risks of extreme weather events, but that they will need support to do it.
The joint statement said: “Agriculture in the UK is a uniquely versatile sector, which supplies food, fibre and energy whilst taking action on climate change, capturing and storing carbon and contributing towards reducing emissions.
“Farmers across the world are on the frontline of climate change with drought, fires and flooding threatening global food security.
“Farmers across the UK are ready and willing to help alleviate the risks of extreme weather events and to think innovatively about how farming practices can for example enhance flood resilience in rural areas alongside sustainable food production.
“But they will need support to do this, and to ensure their farming businesses can also become resilient to current and future climate-related risks and their impacts including through better protection of agricultural land from flooding and securing a fair share of water, in order to give farmers the confidence to invest for an increasingly uncertain future.”
The unions said that it is vital that agriculture, land use, environmental and other policies are “practical and properly funded”, with a portfolio of measures for the diversity of farm types.
“It is by adopting a holistic approach to farming – considering food production, biodiversity, landscapes and communities alongside climate adaptation and mitigation – that will ensure a just transition to net zero farming in the future which leaves no farmer behind.
“We want agriculture’s role in taking action on climate change while producing for the future to be widely recognised, at COP28 and beyond.”
