Campaiging MEP Julie Girling has joined a cross-party group of parliamentarians in calling for farming subsidies tied to activities that help combat climate change.
Mrs Girling and three other South West politicians have written to the Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, urging him introduce the green grants. They call for subsidies based on:
# Cutting greenhouse gas emissions,
# Better capture of carbon in soils, and/or
# Trialling new farming methods that could reduce emissions.
The letter was co-ordinated by Gloucestershire Climate Action Network (GlosCAN) and the other signatories are David Drew, MP for Stroud and Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Labou MEP Clare Moody and Green MEP Molly Scott Cato. All are registered Supporters of GlosCAN’s aims.
Mrs Girling said: “This is a perfect time to start linking subsidies to genuinely green farming – and climate change is the biggest problem we need to be targeting.
“I congratulate GlosCAN on this initiative and I am happy to lend my support.”
Hugh Richards, Chair of GlosCAN’s Steering Group, said ‘I am delighted that GlosCAN has been able to bring our most high-profile supporters to act together on this important issue, which seems to be getting very little attention at present. The signatories will no doubt have their own distinctive individual perspectives, which I hope will be sought out by the media and lead to greater public discussion.’
