Milk carbon footprint continues to shrink – Teagasc

Greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of 1l of Irish milk remained on a downward trend last year, new figures show.

Thomas Hubert

20 March 2019

Milk carbon footprint continues to shrink – Teagasc

Teagasc will publish updated carbon footprint data in the next National Farm Survey report. \ Philip Doyle

The carbon footprint of each litre of milk produced in Ireland continued to decrease last year, according to figures to be published in the latest National Farm Survey report in the coming weeks and seen by the Irish Farmers Journal.

Greenhouse gas emissions for 1kg of fat and protein corrected milk were 0.75kg carbon dioxide equivalent over the period 2015-2017, according to Teagasc data.

This figure covers a narrower definition than the full lifecycle analysis calculated by other agencies such as Bord Bia, but confirms a decreasing trend of 1% each year for the past few years.

Arla wants 'carbon net zero' milk by 2050

Colm McCarthy: controlling our carbon footprints