New study finds at least £4.4bn a year needed for nature and climate-friendly farming to meet legal targets

New study finds at least £4.4bn a year needed for nature and climate-friendly farming to meet legal targets - RSPB with National Trust and the Wildlife Trusts

A new study published today shows that at least £4.4bn a year must be invested in nature and climate-friendly farming by the UK and devolved governments over the next decade to meet legally binding commitments.

a bank of ox eye daisies in a fiel margin, looking across the field to a misty sunset between tall trees. — Ox-eye daisy Leucanthemum vulgare, swathe of flowers growing in pollinator margin, Rectory Farm, Buckinghamshire, April 2011 (Credit: Colin Wilkinson (rspb-images.com))

The new report, An assessment of the financial resources needed for environmental land management in the UK, is written by an independent economist and reveals that at least £4.4bn a year needs to be directed solely towards agri-environment schemes that will allow the UK to achieve its net zero greenhouse gas emissions target on land, halt and reverse the catastrophic declines of nature, improve air and water quality, and look after our cultural heritage.

The UK government currently spends about £3.5bn in total on agricultural subsidies each year. According to the report, which was commissioned by the RSPB, The Wildlife Trusts and the National Trust, the ‘scale of need’ has risen due to ongoing declines which have not been sufficiently tackled, leading to new environmental commitments and legally binding targets, most notably to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, factors such as the war in Ukraine and the associated cost of living crisis have led to significant changes in the cost drivers impacting UK agriculture.

The findings, launched at the regenerative farming festival Groundswell, come as pressure grows on the governments of the UK to explain how farmers will be supported and rewarded for their delivery of climate and nature-friendly farming practices. Around 69% of the UK is farmed, and a growing number of farmers, crofters and nature charities are calling for urgent investment in a future farming system that sustains and replenishes nature instead of damaging it.

The RSPB, The Wildlife Trusts and the National Trust commissioned independent economist Matt Rayment to refine previous estimates of the financial resources needed to meet the UK and devolved governments’ environmental legal obligations and policy priorities through farming and land management. Read the An assessment of the financial resources needed for environmental land management in the UK report (PDF)