The Irish Farmers Journal understands that biogenic methane or methane from farming is to be considered differently under the new Climate Action (Amendment) Bill.

A political source has confirmed that methane from farming will be given a special status in law and the bill is expected to be published next week.

Cows emit methane through their digestive processes, such as belching, and the agriculture sector has repeatedly lobbied for methane from agriculture to be treated differently as it breaks down more quickly in the environment.

The news should be tempered by previous comments made by Green Party leader Eamon Ryan who said that the “short-lived” argument in relation to biogenic methane does not hold up because it still converts CO2 in the atmosphere.

The bill will put into law the Government’s intention to reach net-zero emissions by 2050

However, he has acknowledged that there is cause to treat it differently as it is in food systems and that it can be stored by rewetting bogs or sequestering carbon through forestry.

The bill will put into law the Government’s intention to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, with each sector, including agriculture, expected to reduce emissions by 7% between 2021 and 2030. It will include legally binding five-year carbon budgets for each sector.

The methods that will be applied to reduce emissions from the agricultural sector still have to be ironed out, but there is an expectation that it will include rewetting bogs, forestry, improving animal breeding programmes and investigating the possibility of using feed additives to reduce methane in cattle.

Policies

The Irish Farmers Journal was also told that policies to reduce emissions would be shaped by recommendations from such bodies of work as the Climate Action Plan, which previously caused outrage among farmers for suggesting a reduction of the national herd.