Letter: Open Fields Help in the Climate Change Battle

Published on: 28 Jun, 2020
Updated on: 28 Jun, 2020

From Peter Elliott

In response to: It Is Time the Council Addresses the Mistakes of its Predecessors

What has not been discussed in relation to the local plan, as far as I am aware, is the role of open fields in arresting climate change. We all know about the role of trees in this regard, but scientists have recently calculated that if farmers increased the organic matter in the earth on their fields by a mere 1.6%, the problem of climate change would be solved ‘within decades’ due to the increased capacity of the land to absorb carbon.

I’m not saying that protecting the farmland around Guildford will save the planet from the climate crisis, but it will save that part of it that Guildford Borough Council is responsible for, and have promised to address, in their declaration of a climate emergency.