Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to use earth observation data to help support the (a) measurement, (b) monitoring and (c) setting of (i) agricultural, (ii) landfill and (iii) land use contributions to the UK's net zero emissions targets.

Remote sensing technologies have increasing potential to provide cost-effective solutions for monitoring land use changes, gas leaks, and population density. Defra is examining the feasibility of employing Earth observation techniques for the monitoring and measurement of point source greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture, landfills, and other land uses.

We will continue to follow advances in this technology and investigate opportunities for its deployment, including via satellite-based Earth observation, and other remote sensing technologies such as drones and handheld equipment, which are crucial for ground truthing and establishing baseline measurements.