Coalition parties on collision course over carbon emissions cuts in agriculture

Environment Minister Eamon Ryan, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar may face opposition to their climate plans from rural TDs.

The Government parties are on a major collision course over the level of reduction in carbon emissions in the agriculture sector, it can be revealed.

The Green Party fears that the Government will aim for the lower end of some sectoral targets, particularly in agriculture, where a 22% cut is seen as the minimum, but a 30% cut is seen as necessary.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil TDs see the 22% level as the limit of what is achievable, adding that any move toward 30% would “decimate” farming in Ireland.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Fine Gael TDs said any move beyond 22% would involve the wholesale slaughter of cattle, and such a move would imperil farmers.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said there was no possibility that the Government's response would be "watery".

"There is nothing, I can assure, watery in terms of the Government's proposals around climate change," he said.

Its targets themselves are extremely challenging, and will be extremely challenging for all sectors, particularly transport, and particularly agriculture."

Asked if his Government would be willing to fight for higher sectoral targets, particularly in agriculture, Mr Martin said the Government must sell the benefits of lower emissions to society.

"Once you start the fight, you're kind of already losing, to a certain extent," he said. 

"We have to take firm decisions, but we have to bring the communities with us. 

We have to continue to persuade and convince people that this is about society's wellbeing, and above all about the wellbeing of future generations, and that we do need to create a better island environmentally for our children and their children.

"So we've got to constantly work at that."

'It ain't just agriculture'

Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said that he and Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalgue had met on Wednesday to discuss climate change, meetings he described as "good discussions". 

However, Mr Ryan said that "it ain't just agriculture", adding that there was a need to "step up" on transport.

It won't work if it's looked as one sector is the key problem," he said.

"We need to switch away from fossil fuels and sectoral targets."

Progress on reducing methane emissions from agriculture is “challenging, but expected to accelerate” as feed additives become commercially available in future years, according to Bill Callanan, chief inspector at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Speaking at an Oireachtas environment and climate action committee meeting, he said that the 51% reduction target in greenhouse gas emissions on an economy-wide basis by 2030 is “extremely ambitious”, and the agriculture and land-use sectors “will be required to play their part in meeting Ireland’s climate ambition”.

In the Dáil, Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae said achieving a reduction of 22% will be extremely challenging for the sector, but any higher than 22% is likely to have a devastating economic and social impact on rural Ireland.