Farmers alone should not pay to reach climate targets, ICOS conference hears

Following a climate change discussion at the ICOS conference in the Convention centre on Tuesday 3 November, Dairygold board member John O'Sullivan asked what message should he take home to his children and fellow dairy farmers.

Panellist John Muldowney, inspector with the climate change and bio-energy policy division of the Department of Agriculture, believes that it comes down to identifying efficiency gaps in the farm system.

“You must optimise your current system before expanding,” said Muldowney. “After that you can worry about getting extra cows. The carbon navigator is one of five or six useful tools that farmers can use to help create better resource efficiency. “

Muldowney believes that the future sustainability of Irish agriculture can be achieved by building on coherence from October 2014 and FoodWise 2025 offers the opportunity to do so. Last October, the Irish Government secured special concessions for Ireland on emissions targets due to our dependence on agriculture.

Negotiations

IFA Environment and Rural Affairs chair Harold Kingston said that the multi-functional role of agriculture needs to be taken into account in the upcoming Paris climate negotiations in December.

“Agriculture cannot be treated like any other industry,” Kingston said. “It not only produces emissions but also mitigates them through grassland and forestry carbon sinks.”

According to him,there is now a realisation that the targets Ireland originally signed up for were a mistake. The high levels of agricultural production in relation to the size of population in Ireland “skews to a disadvantage” the targets we had to meet.

“If we decide to use our resources to the best of our ability, there is a lot we can achieve,” said Kingston. “As farmers we not only need to look after our environment but also the economics. A farmer needs to see a return after two to five years on an investment such as an anaerobic digestor if they are not getting Government support from it.”

People who supply farm inputs, processors and retailers all have a role to play in mitigating emissions, according to agricultural economist Tom Arnold.

“This is the major challenge we have,” said Arnold. “Despite the fact that Ireland will not see the same effects of climate change that will be obvious in other parts of the world, we still have to contribute to the global effort. If we don’t contribute to tackling the problem we will see migration that will make the Syrian crisis seem like a ha’penny effect.”