Stuart Goodall

…For example, construction, farming and forestry are three industries that have tended to operate independently, with different cultures and ­identities, and often a sense of rivalry: farming versus forestry, rural versus urban. Yet they are intimately linked and could help Scotland to maintain its positive momentum in meeting climate change targets. Around the world, best practice land use involves diverse systems in which food and wood are produced alongside the provision of other rural services such as renewable energy production, tourism, and nature ­conservation. The most sustainable towns and cities are those which ­utilise renewable materials and which care about where their resources come from. …I suggested to the committee that when farmers plant trees on their land, that should be acknowledged as part of their sector’s contribution to tackling climate change.