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15 December 2022

Press Release

For immediate release

Office: 01483 412383

Out of hours: 07500 577620

Email: press@wwf.org.uk

Businesses, banks, farmers, growers and charities call for ‘bold and decisive action’ to futureproof our food system

  • Vision and clarity urgently needed from UK Government on the roll out of Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMs)  
  • Schemes are the cornerstone of a resilient food system and essential to a sustainable farming transition  
  • Representatives from across the food and finance system come together for the first time in support of strengthening ELMs 

WWF, together with leading banks, food businesses, farming groups and civil society organisations have come together to call for “bold and decisive action” from Government to raise the ambition of the  Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) for England. 

In an unprecedented joint public statement, the organisations from across the food system have called for the “ambition and delivery” of all parts of ELMs to be raised to support farmers seeking to protect and enhance nature, while continuing to produce food.  

The schemes will pay farmers to adopt nature friendly farming practices which lower the use of expensive inputs and futureproofs our food system, helping England cut greenhouse gas emissions which drive climate change. 

However, the Government must ensure that ELMs is both accessible to farmers and delivers on the UK's climate and nature targets. 

To achieve this, Defra must provide sufficient budget for the more advanced, targeted and collaborative actions in ELMs, whilst also allowing farmers to stack their income options. This in turn will catalyse private investment which can add to, but not replace, public funding. 

70% of England’s land is used for agriculture, meaning that the way we farm and use the land is vital for both reducing emissions and capturing carbon.  In addition the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world with more than one in seven of our native species facing extinction and more than 40% are in decline. 

The statement, which has been signed by more than 50 organisations including WWF, NatWest and Nature Friendly Farming Network reads: 

“Now is the time for bold, decisive action if we are to create a productive, regenerative and resilient food system into the future. 

“We are all ready to work together to make that happen, including unleashing the potential of the private sector as long as a strong and secure policy signal from government is in place. 

“The UK’s legal net zero and biodiversity commitments depend on the way that our land is used to produce food.  

“Enhancing the ELM schemes is the single largest act of leadership and support that government can provide to this shared endeavour at this crucial time - now is the time to move forward without delay.”  

As part of its wider climate pledge, the UK set targets to reduce its GHG emissions by 68% by 2030  increasing to 78% by 2035. However, it is woefully behind on progress with the Government’s own statistics showing that the UK is on track to miss its legally binding target by a huge margin. 

Failing to deliver on emissions reductions in agriculture and land will not only affect the UK’s ability to meet its net zero targets, but also legal commitments to restore nature. Restoring peatlands and forests, and weaving nature into farmland, can create important habitats for species like curlews, and store more water, to help farmers, communities, and wildlife cope better with extreme weather like the drought we have seen this year.  

The ELM schemes can be the key to delivering this in England, but only if there is a step change in ambition, matched by funding and greater clarity for farmers. 

Kate Norgrove, Executive Director of Advocacy and Campaigns at WWF-UK, said: 

“Currently, the only action we’re seeing on ELMS is ongoing delays and tinkering with names. Defra need to move on from the upheaval and delays of recent months and deliver on their promise to farmers with the clarity, ambition and certainty they need. 

“We urgently need world leaders to commit to a shift to nature-friendly, low carbon farming. Not only will this help in our fight to restore nature, and tackle climate change, but will also make the farming sector more resilient  and underpin food security. 

“As environment ministers meet at the COP15 biodiversity summit in Montreal, the UK Government must showcase to the world how we can end subsidies that are harming nature by making ELMS the cornerstone of a resilient food system – the world is watching, and our future stability depends on it.”  

ENDS 

Assets available here

Read WWF’s vision policy on ELMS here

About ELMs:  

  • The Government’s Environmental Land Management Schemes for England (ELMS) are essential to futureproof our food system. The Government continues to delay announcing details of the ELMs review, following months of uncertainty around the future of the schemes. 
  • They are designed to replace the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP) and pay farmers public money for delivering goods through nature-friendly farming practices.   
  • ELMS currently consists of three schemes: Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), Local Nature Recovery (LNR) and Landscape Recovery (LR).  
  • On 1 December, the Thérèse Coffey announced that the LNR scheme would be replaced by a scheme building on the existing Countryside Stewardship scheme, but gave no further details on what aspects would be protected or built upon in all three schemes. 
  • Around 70% of England’s land is used for agriculture, meaning that the way we farm and use the land is vital for both reducing emissions and capturing carbon. The transition to a new farming system in England could help cut emissions, but it is only due to be fully rolled out by the end of 2027. The equivalent Welsh and Scottish agricultural payment systems are due to be rolled out even later.   
  • Defra has estimated that up to 6 MtCO2e of GHG emissions can be saved across ELM and the wider farming programme (FFCP) by 2037. WWF research shows that agriculture and land-use can make a greater contribution to tackling climate change than that (Land of Plenty). Both these emissions savings pathways will be challenging, even if the new farming system in England – which will reward farmers for low-emissions practices and storing more carbon on farms - were rolled out on time and plan. So, both timing and level of ambition are imperative 
  • Defra state that the proposed English farming schemes have the potential to create or restore up to 300,000 hectares of habitat by 2042, and bring over half our Sites of Special Scientific Interest into favourable condition by 2042. The government’s overall ambition for 2042 is 500,000 hectares and 75% respectively, and while ELM is not the only way of achieving this, it is the cornerstone. This reemphasises the need for ambition and swift, effective delivery. 
  • The Government review of ELMs must now ensure that the UK doubles down on climate action and presses ahead with even more ambitious plans to support farmers and growers to cut GHG emissions and work with nature right across the UK. Failure to do so would be a betrayal of promises made to the farming sector, and leave the UK struggling to meet its climate and nature targets.   
  • Agriculture and land use is a devolved policy area; therefore, the Welsh and Scottish governments are responsible for developing equivalent processes to ELMs in Scotland and Wales.   
  • Work by WWF-Scotland and WWF-Wales offices show ambition on reducing emissions from agriculture and land in devolved nations is also weak. For example, WWF-Scotland found that current Scottish policy does not get Scottish agriculture even halfway to where it needs to be by 2032 to meet climate targets; and WWF-Wales are working on getting agricultural emission reduction targets in the Welsh net zero plans, which currently has no specific targets on agriculture.