In ‘Financing nature-positive transition in the agriculture sector’, report author Dr Maria Carvalho says there is a real opportunity for agriculture to make a significant environmental difference in the face of the climate emergency. In the UK, it is estimated that farming and land management now contribute more than 10% of greenhouse gas emissions, and account for 70% of landmass use.

The report’s major findings include:

• Near-term infrastructure investments are needed for sustainable transition plans.
• Policy incentives have to be ambitious enough in size and scope to reward sustainable farming practices that will help us reach net-zero targets.
• Bridging the investment gap will require information about and access to green finance being specifically tailored to farmers and food producers.
• Financing also needs to help provide innovative solutions for managing the industrial food system.
• Common metrics adopted across the food system are essential to measure sustainable outcomes in farming practices.

In conclusion, Maria, who has 13 years’ research and advisory experience for international institutions, governments and the private sector, setting policies and plans to decarbonise the economy, suggests that finance alone cannot make the food system more sustainable. Rather, an ambitious policy landscape will be needed to incentivise a sustainable farming approach on the way to achieving net zero by 2050.

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