The report says the areas of strongest progress are backed and led by well-designed Government policy, citing renewable electricity and the adoption of electric cars as being ahead of CCC and Government projections.
The report says, though: “Agriculture and land use have the weakest policies in the CCC’s assessment, despite being vital to delivering Net Zero and the Government’s other goals on food security and biodiversity.
“Progress in reducing farming emissions has been glacial. The Government’s Food Strategy of a fortnight ago did little to address these issues. They must be tackled in the new land use framework promised for next year.”
Reacting earlier to the Government’s National Food Strategy White Paper, CCC Chairman, Lord Deben, said: “The Government’s Food Strategy will do precious little to tackle emissions from agriculture which is now one of the most serious contributors to climate change.
“The CCC has set out the case to improve the agricultural sector time and again. A wholesale rethink of how we use land in this country is needed to drive down emissions.
“That includes eating slightly less but better meat and dairy; widespread tree planting to soak up carbon dioxide emissions; and peatland restoration, alongside new approaches to farming.
“Instead, this Strategy fails to address these issues and relies almost entirely on innovation and technology to drive forward low-carbon agriculture and productivity improvements, many of which are untested and unproven. This is an opportunity wasted.”