653. How the UK uses our land is a fundamental question for the transition to net zero. Indeed, net zero will not be possible without recognising the vital importance that nature-based solutions have in achieving the 'net' in 'net zero'. Natural carbon sequestration and sinks need to be protected and preserved, with clear and long-term plans in place not merely to restore natural habitats such as peat and forest land, but to double down on our protection of existing landscapes that contribute to net zero. At the same time, our agricultural sector needs additional support and investment to tackle the twin challenges presented by both natural carbon dioxide and methane emissions from livestock and emissions from agricultural machinery and land use.
654. The transition to net zero and the growing impact of climate change is affecting how we use land:
• High emissions from land use. Agriculture and land use sectors together currently account for around 12% of UK greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions are reducing slowly - the Government's independent climate advisors found that its plans for decarbonising agriculture are completely missing or wholly inadequate.468 As other emissions - such as those from transport - are expected to fall with further measures being taken, agriculture's relative share of UK emissions is expected to grow, and some experts we spoke to said it could account for 30% of UK greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
• New uses. Net zero relies on using land to remove carbon from the atmosphere. For example, the UK is planning to plant 30,000 hectares of woodland a year by the end of this parliament.469 Nature-based solutions (like tree-planting) are expected to provide around 40% of the greenhouse gas removals required by 2050.470 At the same time, there is growing pressure on our land for other uses - for example, the UK's housebuilding target of 300,000 new homes per year by the mid-2020s and growing uses linked to net zero, such as biomass, nuclear, solar or wind power.
• Adapting to climate change. The way land is used can determine the UK's resilience to the kind of climate risks described in Part 1. For example, certain parts of the country are more vulnerable to flooding; any housing or infrastructure built there needs to take this into account, and healthy coastal wetlands, saltmarshes and woodlands can variously provide natural flood defences.
655. These different pressures create complicated trade-offs - particularly when combined with other environmental priorities such as reversing biodiversity loss or improving water quality (for which Government is due to publish legally-binding targets under the Environment Act 2021).471 Managing these trade-offs is crucial to have a coherent and sustainable plan for using our land. Decisions taken by different levels of Government, industry, and even individual land managers all affect how our land is used - with many interlocking systems in place for guiding these decisions (not least the planning system, see Pillar 4).
656. How we use our land has a direct impact on the economy. Land is the UK's most valuable single asset, estimated at £6.3 trillion, accounting for nearly 60% of the country's net worth.472 In 2021, the UK agricultural sector was worth £11.2 billion (0.51% of GDP).473 Decarbonising land use can create clear economic opportunities. Many emissions reductions measures in agriculture are productivity enhancing, with the potential to boost growth by saving farm businesses £170 million per year by 2035, rising to more than £1.5billion per year by 2050.474 There is clear opportunity for innovation in this sector, and government has committed to a £270 million Farming Innovation Fund.
657. More fundamentally, as described in Part 1, our economy is embedded within nature - not external to it.475 Climate change and other environmental pressures like soil degradation, water quality and biodiversity present the biggest medium-term risk to UK food production.476 Nature can help us manage the risks from climate change, for example planting trees in cities can reduce energy needed to keep people cool and reduce productivity losses from overheating in summer.477
658. Individual choices, like what kinds of food we buy, have an impact on decisions made on how the UK uses land. Pillar 5 sets out broad recommendations for giving people more information to help guide their choices. This is designed to help people do things they already want to - not to make them do things they do not want to - and includes a recommendation to pursue 'ecolabelling' on food products.