Creating sustainable business Environmental management in the age of - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Creating sustainable business

Environmental management in the age of Brexit

William Andrews Tipper Head of natural environment, Green Alliance 22 March 2018

Globally, UK farming performs well environmentally

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Wheat

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Beef

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Dairy

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Poultry Cost of natural capital impacts per USD million revenue (USD per USD million). Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization

But entrenched environmental declines make further improvements essential

• Anglian River Basin: over 50 per cent
• f our best farmland, c.12,ooo farms
• Produces more than a quarter of

England’s wheat and barley, half of its sugar beet and much horticultural produce

• Soils are declining – water is highly-

stressed – climate change will intensify risks and challenges

Government is committed to supporting and rewarding greener farming

• 25 year plan for the environment.
• Clean Growth Strategy.
• Industrial Strategy.
• Agriculture Command Paper.

But current policy proposals create risks that will need addressing

• Where does food production sit in

relation to “public money for public goods”?

• How will universal minimum

environmental standards be enforced if cross compliance is abolished?

• What support will be available for

farmers to navigate the transition?

And since commitments are not yet locked-in through legislation, they could be undercut

Environmental standards Agriculture policy Future relationship with the EU Future trade relationships with RoW

DOMESTIC POLICY INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS

Hugely ambitious 25 year environment plan; commitments over “green watchdog”, retention of EU environmental principles, and protection of food safety, health and environment standards in trade negotiations. Emphasis of future farm payments will be delivery of “environmental public goods”; commitment from government to vision of “best quality food in the world to the highest standards in the world”.

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UK will be outside the single market and customs union.

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What might the future look like?

Brexit

• utcome

Deal with EU (inc FTA) No FTAs with

• ther countries

FTAs with

• thers e.g. US

N

• d

e a l w i t h E U Unilateral trade liberalisation M F N t a r i f f s a p p l i e d t

• a

l l

In Europe, outside the EU Best of both worlds Britain in the world Trade at all costs

What might a US trade deal bring into play?

• Lifting of bans on certain production practices e.g. hormone-treated

meat, pathogen-reduction treatments (chlorine-washing).

• Changes to traceability rules for meat products e.g. country of origin

labelling or animal welfare statements on import certificates.

• Changes to rules for pesticides e.g. raising of maximum residue levels

(MRLs), lifting of bans on certain pesticides.

Some building blocks of a resilient system

1. Support continued development of world class UK agricultural assurance schemes. 2. Put into law acceptable minimum standards of environmental practice for farming. 3. Ensure that the new farm payments scheme to replace the Common Agricultural Policy encourages the shift to sustainable food production. 4. Institute a consultative process to define and enforce appropriate standards for UK food outside the EU.