Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 March 2022
761. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the additional abatement impact expected through reducing chemical nitrogen use to 350,000 by 2025 and by a further 25,000 tonnes by 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12568/22]
View answerThere are three greenhouse gases produced in the agricultural sector in Ireland, namely methane nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide.
Methane from livestock accounts for the greatest share of this at approximately 65% of total emissions from the sector. Nitrous oxide makes up the next biggest share at approximately 30% of the total, with the remainder being carbon dioxide.
Approximately 40% of the nitrous oxide produced from the sector relates to the use on Irish farms of chemical nitrogen fertilisers. Within the agricultural chapter of the 2021 Climate Action Plan a key metric in terms of reducing nitrous oxide emissions is underpinned by changing farm management practices in relation to nutrient use.
A key performance indicator in the achievement of this reduction is a reduction in the use of chemical nitrogen on Irish farms to below 350,000 tonnes by 2025 and to below 325,000 tonnes by 2030. By reducing chemical Nitrogen fertiliser use to 350,000 tons, it will deliver an abatement in GHG emissions of 0.4 MtCO2 eq. in that year. An additional 0.2 MtCO2 eq. will be realised when chemical Nitrogen is reduced to 325,000. The total abatement associated with this level of reduction in Nitrogen is 0.6 MtCO2eq in emissions.
While achieving these reductions while maintaining productivity on Irish farms will be challenging, they can be met through nutrient management planning, a focus on soil health, optimising soil pH, better use of organic manures, the use of clover and multi species swards and the adoption of new technologies such as Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS).
