Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 October 2023
98. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide an update on the progress of the agricultural sector in reducing greenhouse gas emissions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47009/23]
View answerThe Climate Action Plan 2023 was launched on 21 December 2023 to set out a roadmap for taking decisive action to halve our emissions by 2030 and reach net zero no later than 2050, as committed to in the Programme for Government. Climate Action Plan 2023 sets outs how Ireland can accelerate the actions that are required to respond to the climate crisis, putting climate solutions at the centre of Ireland’s social and economic development. The significant actions for agriculture in this plan provide a viable pathway to achieve a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for agriculture by 2030. These actions are in line with achieving a 51% reduction in Ireland’s overall GHG emissions by 2030, and net-zero emissions no later than 2050.
The plan commits the agriculture sector, to strong climate action with a focus on reducing nitrogen and methane emissions, and increasing carbon capture and storage as well as positively contributing to the decarbonisation of the energy system. Reduced application of nitrogen based fertilisers, replacing them with protected urea and reducing the age of cattle finishing is key to achieving this ambition. Carbon sequestration is one of a range of important services being provided by sustainably managing forests. This Climate Action Plan recognises the positive impact that forests and forest products make in sequestering and storing carbon. This plan includes the Forest Strategy, launched recently, as well as developing, adopting and assessing Coillte's Strategic Vision, which aims to capture additional carbon dioxide in forestry, soils and wood products by 2050. In addition, this plan sets a target of 450,000 ha for organic farming. There is a clear commitment by Government to deliver on the Programme for Government target and key to this is the enhanced budget support for organics in the CAP Strategic Plan. The Organic Farming Scheme opened for applications in respect of 2023 in autumn 2022. Over 2,000 new entrants to organic farming, doubling the number of organic farmers in Ireland. Based on average farm size, it is estimated that the land area farmed organically will amount to over 180,000 hectares or 4% of the overall land area.
The Programme for Government and Food Vision 2030 highlight the need for support and investment in research. It is through research and innovation that a series of action have been developed and these actions, once implemented can reduce emissions from the sector, underpinned by robust science. Technological solutions for reducing GHG emissions at farm level are in development. In May I announced a world-first scientific breakthrough that can enable the reduction of methane from the Irish cattle herd through animal genetics. This will be possible because of the publication of methane evaluations which will enable breeding programs to reduce daily methane emissions in beef cattle. The research to underpin this is a result of a €3 million project ‘GREENBREED’, funded by my Department. The project has led to the publication of the world’s first national genomic evaluations for methane emissions in Irish beef cattle. The work indicates that breeding programs to reduce methane emissions will be effective for selecting low-emitting livestock, especially when undertaken in tandem with the national genomic evaluations, such as the age at slaughter evaluations released last year.
Our CAP Strategic Plan will support farmers to transition to more sustainable practices while also support farm incomes, with a budget €9.8bn. Significant funding has been provided including €1.5bn for the new agri-environment scheme ACRES, a five-fold increase in funding for Organic Farming to €256m to triple the area to 7.5% of UAA, and €260m to improve the carbon efficiency of the suckler herd through genetic improvement.
Agriculture greenhouse gas emissions decreased 1.2% in 2022 primarily due to a decrease in fertiliser use. The next iteration of the Climate Action Plan is being prepared and will build further on the measures I have identified above.
