asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether research by Dr Andy Thorpe of the University of Portsmouth into methane emissions from cows in relation to climate change received government funding.

My Lords, Dr Andy Thorpe compiled his own research using available statistics on herd/flock numbers from the public domain. He received no funding from the Government.

My Lords, I am glad to hear that. As with humans, the answer to this problem may be improved diet. In the mean time, can the Minister confirm that only a tiny 7 per cent of greenhouse gases in the United Kingdom comes from agriculture? Would it not be better for government investment to go to research to explore ways in which energy can be harnessed from animal and vegetable waste through renewable gases, as in countries such as India and Ethiopia? Would it not be much better for the Government to look hard at the extent to which these research projects should be funded instead of, as has been the case in recent years, reducing the amount of farm-related research and development by 45 per cent?

My Lords, I am happy to agree with the noble Lord on his main contention that the work that should be done relates to the way in which we can change agricultural practices and production in order to reduce this problem. This may relate to issues surrounding animals' diet and the way in which waste is treated. The noble Lord is right that agriculture is a relatively small dimension of this overall issue. The Government are judiciously applying their resources to the areas where the issue is most significant.

My Lords, I am pleased to hear that the Government are not wasting their money on this line of research. Bearing in mind that humans are being blamed for climate change, do the Government know of any research that is being done to prevent the human population from rising from the present figure of 6 billion to 9 billion by 2050?

My Lords, population growth is a factor in this situation—indeed, it has been a marked factor since the industrialisation process began. If the noble Lord is seeking to contrast the role of human agencies with that of animals in producing methane gas and other effusions that damage the atmosphere, I can only agree with him that humans bear the greater responsibility.

My Lords, the UK has 100 million tonnes of organic material from food waste, agricultural waste and sewage sludge that could be used for biomethane. The Government have just promised £10 million for study in this area. However, Germany already has more than 3,000 anaerobic digesters working. Why do we not have such facilities so that we can make great use of this fantastic potential for renewable energy?

My Lords, the noble Lord has a point, but he is encouraging the Government down a path that they are already treading. As he indicated, we are putting resources into research in this area. The fact that the Germans have made greater progress merely reflects the fact that this country cannot be in the lead in every area.

Noble Lords:

Oh!

Well, my Lords, it was not so long ago that I was being told in this House that the Danes were ahead in wind farm construction, but now they are not; the UK is ahead in the deployment of wind farms. The noble Lord will recognise that we have no intention of allowing the Germans to maintain their lead for an unduly long time.

My Lords, will the Minister say how the Government intend to harness these emissions, whether they come from cows or anywhere else?

My Lords, the verb "harness" is a difficult one in this context. We are seeking to minimise rather than to harness.

My Lords, the methane gas emissions from our cattle, sheep and goats are blamed for quite a part of climate change, but will the noble Lord promote the benefits of these animals? They give us high-quality protein that we cannot obtain from grass and vegetation ourselves. They also save a lot, in the form of tractors ploughing fields to produce corn for people to eat as a replacement for animal proteins. Please can the balance between the two factors be promoted?

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Countess for introducing the concept of balance to this discussion. Of course British livestock is important in farming and brings benefits to the nation, but if we can bring changes in diet and feedstuff for livestock in this country and if we can reduce emissions—and it is thought that scientifically we may be able to do so—we should pursue that route.