Farmers await decision on agri-emissions target

The Climate Action Plan 2021 sets out an emissions reduction range for the agriculture sector of between 22% to 30% by 2030.

The wait and debate continued for the farming community as discussions were ongoing into Wednesday evening on setting an emissions reduction target for the agriculture sector.

It had been hoped that a figure would be agreed by Government leaders ahead of the final Cabinet meeting of the summer on Wednesday morning, however, that decision had been further delayed. The Climate Action Plan 2021 sets out an emissions reduction range for the agriculture sector of between 22% to 30% by 2030.

However, industry leaders have repeatedly warned that a target of 30% could “devastate” Ireland’s agriculture sector. President of the Irish Farmers’ Association Tim Cullinan has said that a full economic and social impact assessment needed to be carried out before imposing a ceiling.

With a 30% reduction, the IFA envisages “carbon leakage and an increase in global emissions, as production will move to other countries with weaker climate policies”.

Mr Cullinan said this week that if the minimum target is set, farmers would “also be contributing to reducing emissions from other sectors”.

Meanwhile, An Taisce has said that agriculture “was already given a very significant concession” in that the maximum reduction they could be assigned under the sectoral budgets is 30%.

“Yet, many are now arguing that further concessions should be granted, and agriculture should be assigned the lowest possible emissions reduction target, equating to just 22%,” An Taisce said this week.

“However, any failure to sufficiently reduce emissions from agriculture, forestry and land use emissions will necessitate much greater and more rapid reductions in energy emissions than what is already proposed.”

Elaine McGoff, An Taisce natural environment officer said: “Cutting agricultural methane substantially by 2030 is especially critical if we want to limit warming in the short to medium term.

“But the radical changes that agriculture must undergo will require careful and rapid implementation of a ‘just transition’, with clear supports and structures in place to assist farmers with that transition.”

Backing farm families

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue told the Irish Examiner in recent days that his objective in working with farmers is to “maximise capacity to deliver” on emissions reductions while “backing farm families to continue to produce food because that’s their core job and we do that better in this country than it’s done anywhere in the world”.

“But we can do it even better and we can do it with an even lower emissions profile,” he added.

Officials of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine have said that to even achieve the reduction at the lower end of the target range over the decade, it would require a “significant transformational change in the sector on a scale that has not been seen before for Irish agriculture”.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

“The targets assigned to each sector must be proportionate and reflective of the overall contribution.

“Unlike in other sectors where technologies and/or lifestyle changes can be utilised, there are no silver bullet solutions to reducing emissions from the agriculture and land use sector: it will require a sustained effort for change to happen,” a department submission to the most recent Oireachtas joint committee on agriculture, food and the marine reads.

“Measures such as reducing and changing fertiliser type, earlier finishing age of our prime beef animals, increased organics will get us maybe 70% of the way there but further measures including the technological development of methane-reducing feed additives and incentivising diversification opportunities for farmers such as growing grass for an expanding AD industry will be needed.”

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB