The DEPUTY president of the National Farmers Union says his members are ready to play their in achieving zero CO2 emissions.

The government's Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry is formally seeking advice from an independent advisory body, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), on setting a date by which the UK should achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Her move came at the start of Green GB week and was prompted by last week's United Nations report warning that CO2 emissions must be stopped completely to avoid dangerous climate disruption.

Guy Smith, deputy president at the NFU, believes groups need to now take more notice and more action.

He said: “Last week's report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was a final alarm call from the science community; the rise in global temperature must be limited to 1.5 degrees.

"Farmers and growers have weathered extremes of cold, drought and flood so far this year, and we are ready to play our part in a global move towards net zero emissions.

"As managers of the land, we have a particular role to play, in harnessing how plants capture carbon from the air and directing this into greenhouse gas removals.

“While UK farmers are keen to show leadership in how we tackle climate change, what is not acceptable is knee jerk restrictions on UK farm production that simply increase food imports."