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The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) is beginning to understand the significant opportunity for farmers in reducing methane emissions while simultaneously improving farm income, according to Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications Ossian Smyth.
The Dún Laoghaire-based minister said: “The IFA is beginning to understand that this is a significant opportunity, that cuts to methane emissions will be very beneficial to the climate and that farmers have an opportunity in the context of methane not being released.”
He said farmers have the opportunity to have negative carbon emissions due to on-farm sequestration.
Smyth was speaking in the Dáil following questions on agricultural carbon emissions from Bríd Smith TD on Tuesday.
No movement on herd
Minister Smyth said: “The goal of our agricultural emissions reduction policy and our agricultural climate policy is not to reduce, increase or stabilise the herd.
“The goal is to cut emissions and at the same time to increase farm incomes. Those are the two things we are trying to do at the same time.
“How we get there is another question. We do not have to state that farmers must do it in a particular way.”
Whatever ways are chosen, farmers will be a significant part of the solution
Smyth said the recent Teagasc report on farm sustainability discussed many ways in which methane can be reduced.
“Whatever ways are chosen, farmers will be a significant part of the solution.”
Different
The Green Party minister explained that he sees agriculture as a “different kind of sector from other sectors” because of the option to sequester carbon.
“That opportunity does not exist in the transport or energy sectors, for example. Farmers have the possibility to have negative emissions.”
While acknowledging the role of current efficiencies and diversification measures in reducing emissions, Smyth said “further measures will be required” to meet the 22-30% target set for the sector in the Government’s Climate Action Plan.
“[These will] include the introduction of a model for carbon farming, exploring feed-related methane reduction solutions and conducting a diversification review which will include an assessment on the wider production of biomethane.
“Combined, these measures will ensure that the agriculture sector meets its targets for 2030 while also setting pathways towards climate neutrality by 2050.”
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