 |
| Greenhouse Gas Cut Plan |
|
|
|
| Written by Cian MacSweeny | |
| Friday, 02 May 2008 | |
 The target is part of a newly published Milk Road Map that sets out short, medium and long-term environmental targets for the entire milk supply chain over the next 12 years. The Road Map was created by a working group chaired by Dairy UK. It included representatives from Defra and organisations representing farmers and allied sectors, processors, retailers and consumers; all under the umbrella of the Dairy Supply Chain Forum. Targets set out for the dairy farmers include increased participation in agri-environment schemes, greater use of renewable energy, including anaerobic digestion, reduced water usage and higher levels of recycling. Targets are also in place to reduce nitrogen run-off and improve manure management. However one target for concern is the 20 to 30 per cent reduction in the greenhouse gas balance, which takes account emissions debits and credits from farms. While debits include emissions from manures, livestock, energy usage and transport, credits may include the generation of renewable energy and reduction in emissions from enhanced energy and feed efficiency. This methodology will enable farmers to reduce their overall emissions balance, while maintaining the flexibility to increase the size of their dairy herd. Processors targets include a requirement for half of all plastic milk bottles to be recycled and significant reductions in water usage by 2020. Dairy UK said the recycling pledge alone would save 60,000 tonnes of newly produced plastic each year, equivalent to 1.5 billion bottles. Mr Gwyn Jones, NFU's dairy board chairman said the union had worked closely with Defra to ensure targets were ‘realistic, achievable and in no way compromised the economic viability of dairy farming’. “Profitability is the cornerstone of dairy farmers’ ability to improve the environment and the Milk Roadmap is about improving environmental performance, without compromising productivity,” said Mr Jones. “We want the Roadmap to address the sector’s environmental challenges, but we firmly believe that our offering represents as far as the industry can go, without threatening economic viability.” Mr Jones stated that the dairy industry had already come a long way in reducing its environmental impact, for example methane emissions have been reduced by 13.5 per cent since 1990 and nitrogen application has decreased by 46 per cent over the past decade. Mr Jim Begg, Dairy UK director general described the Road Map as a ‘step change in the way we produce process and consume liquid milk’. “I am proud of the measures that our industry has committed itself to, and proud that we are the first sector to draw up one of these ground-breaking Road Maps. We are laying down a benchmark for other products to emulate,” said the director general. The initiative was due to be launched today, Friday, by Food and Farming Minister Jeff Rooker on a Herefordshire dairy farm. “The dairy industry has acted responsibly in the past to cut its environmental impact, and this Road Map provides a major new tool to achieve that,” said Minister Jeff Rooker. The initial Road Map working document, circulated by Defra last autumn, provoked quite a bit of controversy when it suggested a move towards 90 per cent UHT milk by 2020 to cut down on refrigeration, alongside a 60 per cent cut in farm methane emissions. A Dairy UK spokesperson described those initial proposals as ‘aberrations that Defra quickly backed away from’ when the industry made its opposition clear.      |
