Horticultural Sector Committee: what challenges does climate change pose to the horticultural sector?

At 10.30am the committee will hear from:

• Professor Tim Benton, Research Director, Chatham House
• Dr. Chris Thorogood, Deputy Director of Oxford Botanic Garden, University of Oxford
• Lord Deben, Chair, Climate Change Committee.

At 11.30am the committee will hear from:

• Matthew Appleby, Editor, Horticulture Week
• Clare Mike, Director of Business Development, LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming).

These evidence sessions, which are open to the public, will be held in Committee Room 4 of the House of Lords and streamed live on Parliament TV.

Topics the committee is likely to cover in these sessions include:

• How the horticultural sector and its supply chain contribute to climate change and environmental damage.
• The ease with which farmers and growers can measure their environmental impact.
• The role of the horticultural sector in meeting the Government’s environment and net zero targets.
• Risks and benefits to the environment of future innovations in the sector, such as automation of production processes and new vertical farming methods.
• Reliance of the sector on plastic packaging, and the effectiveness of alternatives.
• The Government’s Environmental Land Management Schemes.

More about this inquiry 

The cross-party Horticultural Sector Committee is considering the challenges, opportunities and risks faced by the horticultural sector, including the impact of rising input costs and labour and skills shortages, and how innovative technologies might address these issues and other pressing challenges such as the impact of climate change on productivity and food supply. In addition, it will explore how policy can support the sector in meeting the Government’s ambitions for levelling up and post-Brexit trade policy. It will publish its report by the end of this year.

Last month the committee published a call for evidence. The deadline for the submissions is 6pm on Monday 10 April 2023.