CLA backs EU agreement on sustainable energy

The CLA today welcomed the historic EU-wide agreement that will underpin the UK’s move to a more sustainable energy system over the next 12 years.

The CLA President Henry Aubrey-Fletcher said: "We have been worried by both security of supply and climate change and have lobbied hard to ensure action is taken at an EU level to ensure the sustainability of biofuels. We have also lobbied to make sure the UK is given the push it needs to match up to other EU members who are far ahead of us in renewables, especially in anaerobic digestion and wood fuel use.

"The UK is well behind the original Common Market members in the quantity of renewables we deliver. We have called on Government to do more, and more quickly – there is a lot of catching up to do, especially in displacing fossil fuels used for heating, which account for 50 percent of our energy use."

The CLA President added: "CLA members are well placed to help the UK deliver its targets, as land managers with crops and woodlands which can be used for sustainable fuels, as owners of livestock whose manures can be used for energy, and as the managers of rivers and streams that can be captured for small scale hydro. This is as well as providing appropriate sites for wind turbines.

"There remain barriers to wider delivery of renewables, and we continue to press Government to address these at every opportunity."