Janet Finch-Saunders, Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy, has described the Welsh Government approach to tackling the impact of the agricultural sector on climate change as “flawed”. This comes as Lesley Griffiths MS, Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd, has responded to the Member stating: “we do not hold data on the amount of carbon sequestered by agriculture land in Wales”.
Commenting on the Welsh Government’s approach to assessing the impact of farms on climate change, Janet said:
“Whilst the Minister claims that she is taking an evidence-based approach to developing the Sustainable Farming Scheme, the truth of the matter is that we do not know how much carbon is sequestered by agricultural land in Wales.
“Such a major gap in key information is, I believe, causing a situation where over emphasis is being unnecessarily placed on the role of trees. This is a dangerous situation because there is no doubt that the move towards seeing such a major increase in tree planting, potentially even on best and most versatile agricultural land, will result in a fall in the amount of food farms are able to produce, and therefore a likely increase in our nation’s reliance on imports.
“Post-Brexit, Wales now has an invaluable opportunity to ensure that its agricultural and climate change policies are the most appropriate for Wales. For this to be achieved, the Welsh Government should ascertain how much carbon is sequestered by agricultural land in Wales.
“Without such information the approach to tackling the impact of the agricultural sector on climate change is flawed.”
ENDS
Photo: Janet Finch-Saunders MS
Documents:
Letter from Janet Finch-Saunders MS to the Minister for Climate Change
Letter from the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd to Janet Finch-Saunders MS
