AN organisation has said the UK is going to have to 'focus massively on infrastructure' if it is going to cope with the drive to net zero. 

According to the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV), we need an 'industrial scale, economy-wide transformation'. 

The topic was discussed at the Western Counties Autumn Conference, organised by CAAV, in Tiverton, Devon on Tuesday (November 21). 

Jeremy Moody, secretary and advisor to CAAV, said: “2050 is only 27 years away, and we’re moving on to second-generation net zero discussions, with an absolute focus on renewable energy.”

He also spoke about farming and said that reducing emissions is a 'big target' and one way to do this is by tackling slurry storage. 

Jeremy added: “Farmers in England are being offered up to £250,000 to get their slurry storage right. That’s generous money and worth taking – you’re getting carrots now but under evolving legislation you’re probably going to have to do it anyway under your own resources.”

Richard Sanders, at CAAV, explains that under the slurry infrastructure grant, beef and dairy producers can get funding to upgrade their slurry storage to provide six months storage, while pig producers can be funded to provide eight months storage. He adds that the funding includes items like slurry separators, concrete stores and slurry covers. 

Other topics at the conference included: 

  • Electricity supply - half of the UK's supply is from non-fossil fuel but Jeremy noted that we need to 'quadruple' the production of non-fossil fuel energy. He said that as well as investing in solar, wind and other renewable power sources, we also need to 'massively upgrade' the electricity grid.
  • Water supply - Jeremy said it will be important to manage flooding and drought, particularly with the 'more extreme' weather events. He noted that three new reservoirs are planned and new pipelines will be required to bring water to the South East.
  • House building - He said tackling the planning system is the 'key' to delivering more housing.