It's only a matter of time before they start taxing farts
(Telegraph) -- The price of meat, milk and other British farm products will have to rise to reflect the environmental cost of producing them, a Government study has concluded.
A Cabinet Office review of food policies suggested that farmers and their customers will have to pay a "green price" on farm goods that generate large amounts of greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide.
Methane is produced by the digestive processes of livestock, and nitrous oxide is released from many agricultural fertilisers.
Scientists say both contribute to global warming along with carbon dioxide, and the report estimates that farming accounts for as much as 12 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions.
Current emissions trading systems apply only to carbon dioxide, and the Cabinet Office study says methane and nitrous oxide should also carry a financial price reflecting their environmental impact.
The report said: "Almost half of the UK food chain’s total greenhouse gas emissions are from agriculture.
"There is no equivalent to a carbon price on emissions of methane and nitrous oxide, which account for around 80 per cent of the global warming potential of farming’s greenhouse gas emissions. This is not sustainable or efficient in the long term."
The Government’s new Committee on Climate Change is now examining whether the UK should set targets for methane and nitrous oxide like those currently applied to CO2 production, the report said.
And the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has started research on "robust and cost-effective mechanisms for internalising the external greenhouse gas costs of agriculture," systems that would "price in" the environmental consequences of farming.
The report also promises more action to help farmers reduce their greenhouse gas production by generating more of their own electricity from farm waste, and proposes changes in livestock diets to reduce gas emissions.
A Cabinet Office review of food policies suggested that farmers and their customers will have to pay a "green price" on farm goods that generate large amounts of greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide.
Methane is produced by the digestive processes of livestock, and nitrous oxide is released from many agricultural fertilisers.
Scientists say both contribute to global warming along with carbon dioxide, and the report estimates that farming accounts for as much as 12 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions.
Current emissions trading systems apply only to carbon dioxide, and the Cabinet Office study says methane and nitrous oxide should also carry a financial price reflecting their environmental impact.
The report said: "Almost half of the UK food chain’s total greenhouse gas emissions are from agriculture.
"There is no equivalent to a carbon price on emissions of methane and nitrous oxide, which account for around 80 per cent of the global warming potential of farming’s greenhouse gas emissions. This is not sustainable or efficient in the long term."
The Government’s new Committee on Climate Change is now examining whether the UK should set targets for methane and nitrous oxide like those currently applied to CO2 production, the report said.
And the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has started research on "robust and cost-effective mechanisms for internalising the external greenhouse gas costs of agriculture," systems that would "price in" the environmental consequences of farming.
The report also promises more action to help farmers reduce their greenhouse gas production by generating more of their own electricity from farm waste, and proposes changes in livestock diets to reduce gas emissions.
