This report models five land-use scenarios that restore nature, achieve net zero carbon emissions and provide good food, each prioritising different goals:
– Balance food, nature and climate action (our recommendation)
– Business as usual
– Agroecological food production on all land
– Self-sufficiency
– Avoid engineered greenhouse gas removal
These scenarios explore how the innate trade-offs in land use interact. The report offers several insights:
1. Relying on engineered greenhouse gas removals to offset high residual emissions from farming, instead of restoring habitats that also sequester carbon, would add £100 billion to the cost of net zero to the taxpayer by 2050.
2. Reducing meat and dairy consumption makes achieving other farming goals easier, including raising farm incomes, restoring nature, carbon sequestration, limiting taxpayer costs and increasing self-sufficiency.
3. Payments for wildlife-friendly farming are a cost effective way to increase populations of farm-adapted species and grow food on the same areas of land.