Regenerative farming to reduce emissions from farming must be considered, the Green Party has said following the publication of sectoral emissions for 2025 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Consideration must be given towards incentivising regenerative farming, farming with nature and a less intensive model that adequately pays farmers for nature, water and climate measures, Green Party agriculture spokesperson senator Malcolm Noonan added.
“The rate of decrease in agriculture emissions for 2025 of 0.2% is disappointing, but worryingly the reason behind the slow pace of decline is a huge increased use in nitrogen fertiliser,” Noonan said.
“This could have a knock-on impact on water quality too. Both issues of emissions in agriculture and water quality are interdependent and it is clear that a radical departure from current farming systems is required to embed resilience into the Irish farming system.
“At a time of climate breakdown, business as usual is no longer an option,” he said.
Land use review
The delayed publication of phase two of the land use review was also criticised, a document that could have a profound impact on farming’s contribution to Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions towards 2030, the party said.
The delayed publication was a missed opportunity not to embed recommendations into the nature restoration plan public consultation process, greenhouse gas emissions projections and the ACRES review currently underway in the Department of Agriculture, the party added.
“The land use review advocates a ‘multifunctional land use system’. The next CAP strategic plan must move towards innovation to deliver co-benefits for climate, nature and water and importantly too, viable incomes for farm families across the State,” Noonan said.
SHARING OPTIONS