McLaren: Don't blame farmers for climate change

In reponse to a question from the floor following his address, Mr McLaren said governments had set the strategy and agenda on climate change. “So scepticism about this is irrelevant - the agenda has been set and we have to grasp it. We need to get on the train and make the most of the opportunities.”

He said Scotland’s greenhouse gas reduction targets for farming were 10 per cent, and there was a lot the industry could do to achieve that quite quickly.

“But we need to get real about what we can do. Scotland only has a limited ability to save the planet - the whole of Europe fits into the landmass of Brazil, and there are the same number of ruminants on the planet now as there were 2,000 years ago - greenhouse gas levels started to rise during the Industrial Revolution.

“We need to make the point farming is not blame - and that we are not obsessed with pesticide and fertiliser use. We have taken huge steps already, and agriculture has a role in carbon sequestration.”

He said the figures often quoted on farming’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions needed some perspective. “If you look at Ireland, for instance, it shows agriculture is responsible for 26 per cent of emissions - but they don’t do anything other than farming! People need to get it in perspective.”

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