Fossil fuels are likely to become “stranded investments” while solar, wind, energy storage and bioenergy will be seen as preferable by investors following last week’s climate agreement, the NFU has predicted.
Britain’s farming union said it welcomed last week’s global climate agreement signed as part of the COP21 Paris talks, and said the agreement, signed by over 190 world countries, sends out “an immediate signal” to businesses, fund managers and investors worldwide that fossil fuel projects are likely to become stranded investments. In contrast, fast-moving innovations like solar, wind power, energy storage and bioenergy will be seen as the preferred means of meeting future world energy needs.
NFU vice president Guy Smith said: “Farmers here in Britain, and indeed around the world, are on the front line of climate change.
“We are among the first to see the impacts of extreme weather events such as flooding and drought in our daily work. This historic agreement to tackle both the causes and effects of climate change will be vital to make our food supply more resilient.”
Smith said the NFU recognised the importance of a strong voice for agriculture at COP21, sending its senior environmental policy advisors Ceris Jones and Jonathan Scurlock. “Accordingly it was rewarding to see the importance of agriculture name-checked in the final agreement,” Smith said.
“Farmers need to be investing in their farms now to make them more 'weather proof' in the face of increasingly volatile weather. Better buildings, better drainage, better irrigation facilities will all be more important in the future.
“However we need to be aware this won't be done if the food chain doesn't allow farmers to make enough profit to allow for increased investment into the infrastructure of their farms.'
The NFU also hailed the fact that ‘food production’ and ‘food security’ were mentioned in the final version of the text, although some campaign groups said the Paris talks did not give agriculture a central role, given its position as both a culprit and victim of climate change.
The measures agreed at COP21 include:
To peak greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and achieve a balance between sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century
To keep global temperature increase 'well below' 2C (3.6F) and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C
To review progress every five years
$100bn a year in climate finance for developing countries by 2020, with a commitment to further finance in the future
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