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IFA Climate Change Project Team Chairman, Sean O'Leary has
welcomed Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan’s recent comments
made at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Change and
Energy Security, regarding agriculture’s contribution to emissions
reductions.
Mr. O’Leary said - “I concur with Minister Coughlan’s comments.
If significant reductions in emissions were demanded from
the agriculture sector, it would place enormous downward pressure
on cattle numbers and have a damaging consequence for our
rural community. Furthermore, reductions in emissions from
agriculture may result in less commodities - such as beef
and milk - being produced and would simply increase the carbon
footprint by transferring production elsewhere. Clearly, such
a proposal makes neither economic nor environmental sense
at a time when it is estimated that global demand for food
will increase by 50% within the next 20 years.”
The Climate Change Chairman added - “Agriculture has a definite
role to play in the climate change debate and this includes
growing carbon sequestering miscanthus, carbon neutral
electricity production through anaerobic digestion, forestry
planting and wind energy.”
Ireland’s post Kyoto objectives need to examine the sources
from which greenhouse gas emissions are growing. These include
big industries like ESB, CRH and Bord na Mona - who all received
free Carbon Credits paid for by the taxpayer, while emissions
from their sectors increased dramatically.
Sean O’Leary concluded - “Greenhouse gas emissions have grown
by 25% in Ireland since 1990, led by the transport sector,
which has increased by 163%. Emissions from the energy sector
have increased by 32% and the industrial sector by 23%. Clearly,
policy-makers have to tackle these growth areas if the fight
against climate change is to succeed.
"Agricultural emissions have reduced by 3% over the
same period. These reductions have occurred without any allocation
to agriculture by the EPA of the carbon sink, which occurs
in forestry and other land uses.”
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