The "To Zero Fifty" Greenhouse Gas Accounting Living Lab

Describe the research in simple terms in a way that could be publicised to a general audience. This will be made publicly available, and Applicants are responsible for ensuring that the content is suitable for publication. No more than, 4000 characters including spaces and returns. We argue that the most effective government lever to transform UK land use for net zero is to work with public and industry stakeholders to support research to develop a scalable and auditable framework by which organisations can measure, monitor and validate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon sequestration. As we approach 2050, farm businesses will increasingly need to demonstrate net zero compliance both to supply processors and retailers who have Scope 3 net zero targets, and to export produce in compliance with developments such as the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. It is also our experience that GHG accounting provides a foundation for natural capital accounting to address social and environmental synergies and trade-offs. However, there are multiple tools available for GHG emissions accounting on UK farms. To enable the change at the UK scale required, we need to evaluate and converge accounting approaches, build understanding about the optimal use of these tools, and minimise negative social impacts. This requires a transdisciplinary approach that empowers real-life, multi-stakeholder user engagement, and engenders co-design. Hence, building on recent positive experiences at a regional level, we will establish a pan-UK Living Lab called the "To Zero Fifty (2050)" with a project aim to develop and evaluate a scalable auditable farm- and food-level GHG accounting framework for UK land use to sustainably reduce GHG emissions. We will use the "To Zero Fifty" Living Lab to engage policy, practitioner, value chain, and public stakeholders on a net zero journey, including comparing GHG calculators, not just in terms of functionality as other research has done, but in terms of: building capacity and net zero literacy, testing sequestration predictions, assessing validation methods and exploring the governance and equitability implications of scaling. In summary, we aim to provide evidence about the means for driving effective and informed usage of GHG accounting tools to inform policy and help achieve a net zero transition. This work is supported by tasks dedicated to planning for impact (capacity building, training and dissemination), developing and monitoring an EDI Strategy, risk, and ethics and RRI standards. We envisage that a credible and coherent GHG verified accounting framework, with common input proforma and underpinned by governance equity principles, will enable farmers to actively manage and reduce GHG emissions at scale. This will lead to economic (market access, targeted inputs and efficient food production), social and environmental benefits (avoidance of perverse impacts, informs natural capital accounting).