Last week’s publication of the Government’s land use review does very little to instil confidence that our emissions targets will be met by 2030.
The report is high on aspiration and low on detail. Agribusiness Editor Lorcan Roche-Kelly outlines the details on page 26.
The report contains pathways for afforestation until the year 2100, which compares a business-as-usual afforestation rate of circa 2,000 per year with current policy for 8,000 ha per year and a “high ambition, biodiverse” scenario of 16,000 ha per year until 2030 and 25,000 ha per year until 2080.
The last of those scenarios would see 30% of Ireland’s land covered in forestry by the end of the century. Setting unrealistic targets for the industry only serves to create a bigger divide between Government targets and the industry.
Another report published this week was the EU livestock strategy report. After years of neglect, there is a growing recognition of the importance of livestock within Europe amid a reduction in livestock numbers across the 27 EU member states.
The report points to the need to take account of the biogenic nature of methane and the fact that it has a shorter carbon cycle compared to other greenhouse gases.
It also states that the European Commission will work on a harmonised methodology for livestock greenhouse gas emissions at farm level, and will promote monitoring tools that better reflect measures implemented at farm level and are more adapted to the needs of the EU livestock sector.
The report also makes an important point around the fact that reduced EU production could lead to increased imports and higher emissions in non-EU regions.
SHARING OPTIONS