Britain needs to make ‘radical changes’ to achieve net-zero greenhouse gases target by 2050
This story and the one which follow it demonstrate how the challenge of living within our environmental means is likely to be very stretching. It tells us:
The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) report has recommended that the government set a target of net-zero greenhouse gases by 2050.
According to the report Net Zero, achieving this, will involve a radical re-think in farming practices and changes to how the British population live, including eating less meat. It will also bring significant changes for the countryside, from agricultural practices to conservation.
The call has been welcomed by wildlife groups, which believe that taking measures to mitigate climate change go hand in hand with reviving the UK’s biodiversity. The CCC says that increasing 32,000 hectares of woodland is required every year for the next 30 years, moving the UK from 13% to 17% woodland cover. This equates to a million new hectares of woodland cover and some 1.5 billion trees.
“There is a potential win-win here,’ said Beccy Speight, CEO of the Woodland Trust. “It is essential to address the climate and natural environment crises together – recognising them as being interconnected and not two separate challenges. Woods, trees and their associated wildlife and the landscapes in which they sit are being impacted by climate change.”