NFU Scotland’s newly established Climate Change Advisory Panel has met via video call for the first time today (September 11, 2020).
The establishment of the advisory panel reflects NFU Scotland’s commitment to being an industry leader in tackling climate change.
It will support NFU Scotland in its work to ensure that Scottish agriculture can remain vibrant, profitable and productive while delivering benefits for the climate and wider environment.
The panel is made up of a mixture of active farmers and land use and climate change policy experts and will provide a forum for knowledge exchange and discussion.
The panel will work with NFU Scotland policy team staff in identifying key environmental issues related to Scottish agriculture.
It will incorporate practical knowledge with technical expertise on matters relating to land use and climate change and will make recommendations to NFU Scotland’s Environment and Land Use Committee.
Climate change is one of NFU Scotland’s ‘Big Six’ policy areas.
Achieving ambitious targets
The panel will build on recent research carried out by Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutes (SEFARI) fellow Dr. Gemma Miller, in collaboration with NFUS, that clarified the impact of Scottish agriculture on the climate.
Dr. Miller will be one of the members of the new panel, which will be chaired by NFU Scotland vice-president Martin Kennedy.
Kennedy said: “NFU Scotland recognises that agriculture has a critical role to play in responding to the climate emergency and delivering a green recovery from Covid-19.
We know that Scottish farmers and crofters have worked hard to reduce their emissions since 1990.
“By combining technical knowledge with practical expertise, our Climate Change Advisory Panel will support the sector to build on these achievements and ensure we can meet the ambitious climate change targets that Scotland has set.”
