Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 July 2016
731. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of kilograms of CO2 emissions generated in the manufacture of 1 kilogram of Irish beef protein; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22300/16]
View answerThe Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission has conducted an independent European-wide lifecycle analysis (LCA) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions arising from the livestock sector in Europe. The work focused on the emissions generated from livestock production and considered all upstream emissions, including those arising from the production of imported agricultural inputs such as nitrogenous fertiliser and feed, through to the farm gate.
This analysis, which was published in 2010, confirmed Irish beef production to be amongst the lowest emitters of GHG emissions per kilogram of product, with average emissions per kg of beef estimated at 18.4 kg of CO2 equivalent. Assuming an average protein content of 250g per kilogram of beef, this will equate to 73.6kg of CO2 equivalent per kilogram of protein. These low emissions can be attributed to the application of grass-based production efficiencies and low ‘land-use, land-use-change’ emissions from domestic cropland expansion. In this regard, the Irish system of beef production can be described as unique in the EU.
While our LCA figures for beef are among the best, they do not tell the full story. For instance, they do not highlight the important contribution of our permanent pasture – some 90% of all Irish agricultural land – to maintaining a very significant carbon pool. This carbon pool could be released to the atmosphere if land is converted to arable and contribute further to climate change.
It should also be noted that LCA figures should not be considered as static but are used to benchmark further improvements in the efficiency of Irish beef production systems. This is one of the core objectives of the new Beef Data and Genomics Programme which aims to further improve the environmental performance of Ireland’s suckler beef herd.
In addition, current and future research outputs funded by this Department and research outputs in partnership with European and international alliances will further assist with the refinement, development and deployment of new and innovative practices that will further reduce GHGs that are associated with agricultural production.
