On Tuesday, the government Climate Change Committee released its latest report on the UK's greenhouse gas emissions.

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The report showed a 20 percent reduction in domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the last two decades has limited growth in the UK's carbon footprint, but that the country's overall carbon footprint has increased by 10 percent or more since 1993 due to "increased imports as… part of the broader globalisation process".

This includes food imports, which were found to account for a third of all imported greenhouse gas emissions in 2010. However, emissions from domestic agriculture were estimated to have fallen by 20 percent between 1990 and 2010.

The report, compiled following a government request to look into consumption-based emissions from the UK, was also the first to consider agricultural emissions and the potential effects of reductions strategies on the sector. The government had asked the Committee to investigate the potential for carbon reduction policies to drive industries overseas (offshoring), thereby affecting 'competition' and potentially providing no global benefit in terms of emissions.

The CCC found that "The UK's carbon footprint has increased over the past two decades, as growth in imported emissions has more than offset reductions in production emissions," but stated, "offshoring of industry in response to low-carbon policies has had at most a minor impact… and the carbon footprint would have increased more had production emissions not been reduced."

CCC analysis revealed that the UK is now one of the world's largest net importers of emissions, with a carbon footprint around 80 percent larger than its production. Nevertheless, the Committee judged that domestic GHG reduction policies are proving successful, driving reductions in emissions from power generation, improving energy efficiency and prompting fuel switching. Committee members said that a global deal, or push to achieve climate targets would help cut the UK's emissions from imports.      

Commenting on the overall conclusion reached in the report, David Kennedy, Chief Executive of the Committee on Climate Change, said "The focus on reducing UK production emissions remains appropriate, given that these form a major part of our carbon footprint, and given available policy levers. Clearly we also need to reduce imported emissions. This highlights the fundamental need to reduce global emissions in order to achieve climate objectives, and to do this through a new global deal.”

Effect of emissions targets on agriculture

The report also looked at possible future developments, and considered that emissions reduction measures could impact upon more energy intensive agricultural businesses, such as pig, poultry and dairy operations.  These businesses have already suffered from rises in fuel costs, but the CCC suggested that, with energy costs forecast to rise further by 2020, "the competitive position of some farming activities with high electricity consumption" could be affected (to the tune of £30 million by 2030 for the most energy intensive branches of farming).

CCC recommended that "Opportunities to offset the impact of rising electricity prices through energy efficiency improvement, use of renewable energy and other innovations should be further assessed."

In the UK, agriculture accounts for 9 percent of total emissions, a large proportion of which are of nitrous oxide; a greenhouse gas 298 more potent than CO2 in terms of global warming.

Committee authors suggested that a doubling of earlier targets (which were 39 percent reduction on 1990 agricultural emissions levels, or 4.5 Mega tonnes of CO2e) to make savings of 10Mt CO2e is possible by the mid-2020s and that, if done correctly, this "would not increase overall costs to the sector."

Speaking at the launch of the report in the House of Commons, Tim Yeo MP, Chair of the House of Commons Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change said of the inclusion of agriculture in the report, "agriculture has escaped attention [until now]. Agriculture seems to get away with uniquely soft treatment and I don't think that will last much longer."

CCC Chief Executive David Kennedy, responding to a question by Soil Association Policy Director Peter Melchett said the Committee had outlined actions the agriculture industry must take to reduce emissions, which include rolling out use of nitrogen fixing legumes and reducing reliance on synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, though he acknowledged evidence that this is happening on the ground is "weak" at present.

Peter Melchett said in a statement on Tuesday, "The Soil Association welcomes the increased focus on the climate change impact of UK agriculture and imported food. Farmers in the UK are certainly being increasingly affected by extreme weather, and the industry needs to do more to reduce the emissions that cause climate change."

He added that the Soil Association has been working with farmers to calculate their carbon footprint and roll out new practices through its Low Carbon Farming project.

The CCC report is available to read here