A reduction in carbon emissions being attributed to Irish livestock year-on-year should be good news for farmers. However, the latest Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report on emissions gives no indication as to the consequences of just such a reduction.

“Direct comparison of emissions in the agriculture sector against its sectoral emission ceilings is no longer viable,” the EPA says. This is because of a significant downward adjustment in the emissions attributed to livestock going right back to the base year of 2018.

No indication is given on whether this will result in farming’s emissions reduction target being increased, reduced or left unchanged.

Previously, the emissions attributed to beef cattle and to sheep were calculated based on an international standard model. However, research in Ireland has proven that this model overestimated the emissions from drystock.

In the case of cattle, the production system used in Ireland, coupled with data from ICBF showing information like actual daily liveweight gain and age of slaughter has now been taken on board.

In the case of sheep, Teagasc research demonstrating unique Irish feed characteristics, fecundity (fertility and birth rate), lambing patterns, mortality, liveweights and liveweight gains has now been accepted by the EPA in its measuring.

As a result, annual emissions from agriculture have now been revised downward by 1.4MT CO2 eq (megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, the standard measuring tool for greenhouse gas emissions).

That represents almost 8% of the total emissions calculated to come from agriculture in the base year of 2018, so it’s a pretty significant figure. Cumulative emissions from the sector since the base year of 2018 have been reduced by 8.5MTCO2 eq as a consequence.

As a result, the EPA states in its most recent report on greenhouse gas emissions that “the sectoral emissions ceilings for agriculture is no longer aligned with the reduction target for the sector, mainly due to the impact of updated science to the agricultural inventory in 2023”.

Environment Minister Darragh O’Brien told the Irish Farmers Journal that “refinements do not change the need to deliver on the actions to reduce emissions. Emissions fell by 6.8% in 2023 despite continued economic and population growth – clear evidence of real decoupling”.

Agriculture as a sector reduced CO2 emissions by 4.9% in 2023.