Up to UK to set global green standard
Gaining Royal Assent is a major milestone for the Agriculture Act, which shapes the post-Brexit future of farming and rural land management in the UK.
There are substantial unknowns as to how the standards to be set will enable the sector to meet its net zero emission requirements and the targets set out within the 25-year environment plan in particular.
We’re all waiting for the budget announcements and incentives that come with the new Environmental Land Management Scheme, but it’s the regulatory regime around land use standards – what used to be known as cross compliance – that might well turn the dial on environmental protection in England.
The EU has rolled back on its green ambition in the most recent CAP reform, so it’s up to the UK to set a new global standard in green agricultural policy.
Meanwhile the Environment Bill is back in the House of Commons, and there is ongoing debate over future UK trade policy.
Farmers face a Pandora’s Box of policy, but hope remains in the fact that rural land can provide the solution to many of the problems society currently faces, whether it's climate change, nature restoration, food provision or access to green space.
Rhydian Scurlock-Jones is Director and Head of Rural at Savills in Telford
