Westport Lake, an urban nature reserve in the centre
of Stoke-on-Trent on a Saturday morning when it has been raining since first
light and looks like going on doing so until dusk. An appropriate place to be
attending a forum to discuss public understanding of climate change and what
we’re prepared to do about it.
The event was one of five being staged across the
county by Climate Matters Staffordshire. Information gathered at the forums
will be used to write a report to be presented to local councils and other
policymakers in October.
The topic was ‘the role of countryside, farming, food
and nature’ in offering a solution to the climate crisis. Attendees took part
in discussions around what can be done locally to reduce carbon emissions from
food and farming, halting the decline in biodiversity, and the role councils,
businesses and individuals can play in addressing climate change.
The resulting debate showed many of the strengths of
the disparate coalition of groups coming together to respond to one of the
greatest challenges facing humanity. Unfortunately, it also brought out into
the light some of the problems that make finding a workable response difficult.
Giving a presentation on the role farming can play in
tackling climate change Jeremy Lowe of the National Farmers Union (NFU) spoke
about the Net Zero plan announced by President Minette Batters at the union’s
2019 conference.
This identifies some of the problems created by agriculture,
which currently accounts for 10% of UK greenhouse gas emissions, although in
contrast to the rest of the economy only a small proportion of these are carbon
emissions. The plan sets out how by changing its methods the farming sector can
contribute to the solution by capturing and storing carbon [1].
He admitted the sector faced some significant
challenges to achieving the aims set out by the NFU, not the least of these
being getting a frequently skeptical membership to buy in to the process. Poor
public understanding of farming and the countryside along with a complex system
for getting government support also create problems.
Jeff Sim, Senior Conservation Manager at Staffordshire
Wildlife Trust spoke about the role his organization plays in preserving local
wildlife habitats and trying to turn around the decline in biodiversity.
The Staffordshire Wildlife Trust has 19,000 members in
the county, 600 of whom are active volunteers. It has responsibility for nature
reserves across the county including those at Westport Lake and Cannock Chase.
He described the impact on local nature caused by
climate change, citing the disappearance of the Globe Flower from
Staffordshire’s moorland and the 2018 fires in the Roaches, the damage from
which conservationists have warned could take half a century to repair [2].
The Trust, he said, are working to address declining
biodiversity and climate change through ‘nature-based solutions’ to capturing
carbon emissions, including restoring moorland and wetland habitats, and
incentivizing sustainable farming methods. They also work to promote public
understanding of and engagement with nature [3].
What we eat and how it is produced has an impact on
the climate, diets like that common in the West that are high in meat and
processed food account for a large proportion of UK emissions, food waste and
the health impact of our national diet are also problematic.
In her presentation Keele alumnus Chloe Heath gave an
overview of her research into dietary habits and their impact on climate
change.
The National Food Strategy [4] recommends that to
tackle climate change we reduce the amount of meat we eat by 30%. This, MS Heath
said, will need to be done through a range of initiatives, including taxing meat
and processed foods, improving labelling to help customers make informed
choices and investing in technological solutions such as ‘lab grown’ meat.
Key to changing what we eat is changing how we think
about food, MS Heath said more needed to be done to promote the health and
environmental benefits of a vegetarian of vegan diet. This would involve
improving food education in schools and supporting families on low incomes to access
healthier diets.
The roundtable discussions that followed showed the
strengths and weaknesses of such an event to developing a workable response to
climate change.
There was an unquestioned wealth of knowledge and
experience in the room, with participants from the farming sector, education
and campaigning organizations well represented. The problem, to this observer,
seemed to be that most conversations held on the tables leapt quickly, maybe
too quickly, towards technical solutions.
This approach can often bypass the experience of
communities for whom the environment is less of a concern than the trials of
negotiating everyday life on a low income. It can also make farmers and food
producers feel they are being unfairly singled out for blame, increasing their
reluctance to engage.
The forum agreed a draft list of priorities based on
the discussions that had taken place. Identifying as major issues to address
finding a sustainable way to feed a growing world population, improving
education and communication around environmental issues, and valuing and
enhancing green spaces.
These priorities will be added to at subsequent events
and once agreed a final version will be included in the final report. This will
be delivered to local councils at a conference to be held at the Bridge Centre
in Stoke-on-Trent on 14th October.
[1] https://www.nfuonline.com/news/latest-news/achieving-net-zero-meeting-the-climate-change-challenge/
[2] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-55363287
[3] https://www.staffs-wildlife.org.uk/
[4] file:///C:/Users/Adam/Downloads/1669_NFS_The_Plan_July21_S11.pdf
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