The National Dairy Council (NDC) has welcomed recent amendments to the Climate Action Bill which, according to the NDC, take the bill in line with both the Programme for Government and article two of the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015.

One amendment particularly well-received by the council was that which attaches distinct characteristics to biogenic methane when accounting for the greenhouse gas in agricultural emission calculations.

“The Climate Action Bill, as it stands, should be extended a cautious welcome,” stated chief executive of the NDC Zoe Kavanagh.

Irish dairy meets this definition of sustainable food and sustainable dietary choices

“The latest amendments to the bill are also encouraging, recognising, as they do, and for the first time, that our grass-based dairy farming ecosystem and the land management efforts made by our farmers, remove society’s carbon emissions from the atmosphere and have a beneficial effect on the country’s overall climate impact.

“Irish dairy meets this definition of sustainable food and sustainable dietary choices. It is nutritious, safe and healthy, culturally acceptable and affordable; it can be maintained in the long term, and it is both economically and environmentally protective (WHO guidelines),” she added.

Emission targets

Clarity in the setting of agricultural emissions targets was also called for by the NDC. The body stressed the need to ensure that all amendments are fully considered in the process of evaluating sectoral targets.

It further welcomed two adjustments to the bill which will allow carbon sequestrating farming activities to offset agricultural emissions.

“We understand that every sector has its role to play, and our industry has already pledged to cut its emissions, and to continue to work to reduce its impacts.

“Ireland’s dairy industry is inextricably linked with Ireland’s economy and its society and the cost to our country – and, through the potential for carbon leakage, the world – will be heavy if we cannot begin to differentiate between emissions from cars and emissions from cows,” Kavanagh finished.