The Paris agreement targets are unlikely to be met by mitigation alone and based on current trajectories, 1.5°C warming is likely to be exceeded between 2030 and 2052. It is therefore clear that the UK will also need to use Greenhouse Gas Removal methods to reach net zero by 2050. However, it is imperative that Greenhouse Gas Removal is in addition to maximising the mitigation potential of all sectors.

Foodrise’s response to the first EFRA Committee enquiry, in April 2020, on the impact of the pandemic on UK food supply highlighted how the Government’s response needs to go beyond measures to relieve immediate scarcity – though these are of course important and vital – to encompass action that will help to build a food system that is more resilient to future shocks, especially those posed by the ongoing climate emergency. In this follow-up consultation, we build on that argument and showcase where the pandemic has exacerbated inequality in UK food supply, particularly with fresh food access, food workers’ rights and policy that does not take into account the critical role of small, local businesses in creating resilient, local food economies.

In September 2020, the UK government held a 6-week consultation about its proposals for due diligence legislation on forest risk commodities. This followed the publication in March 2020 of the Recommendations Report from the independent Taskforce for the UK’s Global Resource Initiative (GRI). Foodrise’s response focused on expanding the scope of the proposed new due diligence law, and in underscoring the recommendations of the GRI.

Foodrise welcome that the government is committed to zero food waste to landfill by 2030 and mandatory separate food waste collection. The government is also “committed to increasing the energy from waste produced through AD”. The summary of evidence presented here shows that Anaerobic Digestion (AD) is often a suboptimal use of the land and resources embodied in food waste, except as a last-resort waste management option, and that food waste prevention and diversion to animal feed yield far greater environmental benefits.

The government wishes to “increase the proportion of green gas in the grid” and to “provide targeted support to heat pumps”. The summary of evidence presented in our response shows that “green gas” from Anaerobic Digestion (AD) is often a suboptimal use of land and resources, except for a limited sustainable niche. Foodrise therefore recommends that greater subsidies are dedicated to electrifying the heat supply as quickly as possible through technologies such as heat pumps, rather than locking in expensive and suboptimal “green gas” infrastructure. Foodrise recommends increased taxes on landfill and incineration of waste feedstocks so that AD becomes attractive as a last resort only, with the revenue raised used to subsidise more cost-effective and more sustainable alternatives to AD, such as food waste prevention, afforestation, a just transition to more plant-based diets, and scaling up more efficient renewables such as solar and wind

Brexit provides an opportunity to rethink how we subsidise and regulate our agricultural system. Over the past weeks, the government ran a consultation on their proposals for replacing Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after Brexit. Along with 44,000 other respondents to the consultation, we responded illustrating how we believe the food system should work.