The shocking attacks in Paris will overshadow the climate change conference in the French capital. That said, it’s an important event, with 196 nations gathering to set targets for the next 15 years. There is a need to mitigate the effects of global warming, but there is an equal need to ensure a secure supply of food for a rapidly increasing population. Ireland must carry the case for this second objective. No developed country has more dependency on agriculture; no country has a better carbon footprint for its food production. There is no point saving the planet if we starve its poorest. Great strides have been made here in developing sustainable, environmentally and economically efficient grass-based systems for meat and milk – to undermine this with short-sighted targets would be a failure.