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Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Nitrous Oxide) Regulations 2011

We, too, welcome the inclusion of nitrous oxide in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. As the noble Baroness said, nitrous oxide is a highly potent greenhouse gas. Its use in fertiliser accounts for a large share of our agricultural emissions, and agricultural emissions account for around one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. I have one question and one comment. The question concerns the impact on local air quality. The statement provided by the department states: "““It has not been possible at this stage to quantify any wider environmental impacts this option would have on ambient air quality””." While the release of laughing gas into the local community may sound like a topic of fun, I would like to be reassured by the Minister that local communities will not suffer any degradation in their air quality once the abatement technology is introduced. My comment is slightly off the point, so please forgive me if I stray too far. In recent months the Government have made it clear that great steps will be needed if we are to feed a growing world population. Therefore, the use of fertiliser in agriculture will increase substantially. This is very good news for this company and shows that the Government are right to tackle the problem now. However, it is not only the use of fertiliser in agriculture that results in our nitrous oxide emissions; it is also how we store our livestock. I refer to the storage of manure in intensively reared systems, and the urine and manure that the animals produce. Given that we have taken this very welcome step today to reduce our nitrous oxide emissions, will the Minister ensure that Defra, in looking at how we as a Government seek to meet the growing challenge of feeding the world population, tackles the problem of intensive livestock farming, which is a far greater contributor to our nitrous oxide emissions than the chemical industry?