Why this topic?
Climate issues are currently at the core of societal concerns and
policy-making efforts. Europe has set the course, and we are all now
fully aware of the stark and urgent need for improvement and even
solutions.
The European Climate Law, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality
by 2050, affects a whole range of business activities. The agricultural
sector is responsible for 19% of today’s greenhouse gas emissions,
and needs to reduce that figure by 55% between now and 2030.
Against such a backdrop, SPACE organisers and their Chambers of
Agriculture partners naturally decided to address the topic at the
Espace for the Future.
Today’s question is clear:
How can livestock farming reduce the impact on climate?
Innovative and concrete solutions will be presented at the 'Espace for
the Future” to help breeders find ways to put their systems and
farming practices on a more carbon-friendly track. Testimonials from
breeders and experts, as well as discussions and debates between
livestock professionals and members of civil society will provide food
for thought there. This key moment will shed light on real
commitments and ambitions on the part of farmers and their partners
for a tomorrow in favour of climate. Once again, SPACE, as Europe’s
leading livestock trade show for professionals, will demonstrate by
addressing this topic that it is firmly focused on the challenges of
tomorrow’s animal husbandry industry.
During these three days of the Expo, the moderators of the Espace for the Future will also be able to
explain how agriculture, and breeding in particular, can, thanks to some of the changes already
under way, contribute to climate solutions. Farming, beyond the fact that it feeds communities, can
also store carbon and produce energy.
The engineers of the Chambers of Agriculture in Brittany identified testimonials from farmers who
drew on the Parcours ClimatCulteur initiative in their aim to move towards more carbon-friendly
practices. Thanks to that initiative, designed to guide reflections on low-carbon farming, they adopted
the Climate-Energy plan and mobilised various levers to ensure long-term viability for their farms.
Depending on the type of production, available opportunities and the specific interest of each farmer,
they individually tackled that challenge at their own pace, the only indicator being the carbon footprint
of their business. For some of them, the lever they chose was protein self-sufficiency, for others savings
on energy and production, or even planting hedgerows. There are plenty of levers, and the three days
of SPACE are sure to be chockfull of content in order to cover them all.
Committed to listening to farmers and supporting them as they make the shift in favour of climate,
exhibitors offer products and innovative systems to help make that happen. They are currently being
selected for presentation at the Espace for the Future.
Energy and Climate, two topics to be treated as one and the same
We cannot discuss climate without talking about energies because the two subjects are closely
related.
Energy consumption and its inherent costs heavily impact a farm’s profit margins by raising the
breeder’s production costs. This past 07 March, gas prices reached €224.6/ MWh and electricity
reached €540/MWh before declining. As a reminder, the prices of these two energy sources in 2021
were at €46/MWh and €109/MWh, respectively. For milk production for example, those higher
energy costs translate to a hike from €15 to 61 / 1,000 litres.
Moreover, agriculture is clearly quickly developing as a source of energy solutions, and Espace for
the Future will demonstrate that.
Espace for the Future: engaging in debate
As of last year, Espace for the Future organisers began organiser un scheduling daily debates. Those debates were extremely
successful in 2021, thanks both to the quality of expert
speakers and to the many interactions with the audience
who always shows up in large numbers.
Here are the subjects that will be discussed during the
fruitful debates scheduled for this year:
- Pig and poultry farming: How can breeders maintain performance while adopting low carbon
practices and a strategy for better energy efficiency?
- Herbivores, a source of solutions!
- Livestock farming: is it the ideal culprit?
Cet espace est conçu et animé par le SPACE et les Chambres d'Agriculture de Bretagne avec l'appui de leurs partenaires.
Press contact
Sylvie CONAN, coordinator of the Espace for the Future
02 96 79 21 25 - 06 30 69 78 21