Dismissing farmers who express genuine questions on the environment as “climate deniers” is damaging the communication between farmers and environmentalists, Teagasc’s head of economics Trevor Donnellan has warned.
Claims of climate denial only act to alienate farmers from the green agenda as they are seen as being unwilling to contribute towards environmental goals, Donnellan told a National Economic and Social Council farming conference last week.
“People are completely at loggerheads. If you question – I think in this country – if you question any aspect of climate policy you are labelled a climate denier, which is really horrible language,” Donnellan said.
“The other one I see coming up extensively lately is this thing of ‘being on the wrong side of history’. Again war, war terminology.”
Donnellan also warned that further damage can be caused to the potential for farmers to find common ground with environmentalists when those uninformed of farming issues are given a free-pass to speak as an expert in national media.
“They might be experts in climate science, they might be experts in energy, they might be experts in some other area of emissions but they are all over the media talking about agriculture. They know nothing about agriculture,” he continued.
“If you have people wading in here offering what frankly is pub talk and heading on to the airwaves and it’s shameful really.”
SHARING OPTIONS