Labour risks sparking ‘public unrest’ by forcing Britons to eat less meat, Tories warn
An official climate watchdog push to get Britons eating less meat could risk sparking public unrest, senior Tories have warned.
In order to meet Net Zero targets in the next few decades, UK nationals should halve their meat and dairy intake – and swap out the farm-grown goods for plant-based alternatives, the Government’s climate watchdog, the Climate Change Committee, has said.
The CCC has urged Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to act – under its plans, Britain must slash its CO2 output by 81 per cent by just 2035, using 1990 as a benchmark.
Its chairman, Piers Forster, said persuading British consumers to change their diets would be key to achieving such massive cuts.
Though Forster stopped short of specifying how the UK could reduce meat-eating, options could include reducing livestock subsidies, taxing meat products and a clampdown on advertising by regulators.
But Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho said such large cuts would run the risk of stirring up unrest.
She said: “If we increase the cost of energy, make people change their diets, or generally make life hard for people in this country whilst they see carbon emissions rocketing in places like China, it will lead to public unrest.”
The watchdog has also told the Government to reduce the number of traditional British livestock like sheep and cattle in the UK – arguing the farm animals’ methane emissions are ramping up climate change.
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David Handley from Farmers for Action, who keeps some 500 sheep and 100 cattle on his farm in Monmouthshire, hit back at the CCC’s drive.
He said: “The amounts of methane produced by farming are tiny compared with the emissions from transport and other sectors.
“But these rules and regulations are devastating the sector – along with the UK’s ability to produce its own food.”
Regardless, the CCC has warned that the UK is off course on meeting its grand 2030 climate targets.
In its latest letter to Miliband, the watchdog said: “Setting a target is not enough… The UK must back up its international commitments through actions here at home.”
And despite farmers’ qualms, industry chiefs appear to agree.
Tania Kumar, a director at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said the CCC advice “highlights the important partnership between business and government to scale up investment”.
She added: “It’s clear that to deliver against our 2030 target and go even further for 2035 requires a step change in action.”