The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has claimed that emissions-cutting initiatives by Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan will stand to benefit other sectors more than agriculture.
IFA president Tim Cullinan said that a number of proposals put forward by the minister to help farmers to reach emissions targets will in fact count in favour of other sectors rather than agriculture.
Negotiations are continuing between Minister Ryan and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue on the sectoral emissions ceiling for the farming sector.
The proposed target for agriculture will involve an emissions cut of 22-30%, relative to 2018 levels.
“Minister Ryan has been telling us that we can reduce emissions at farm level through anaerobic digestion (AD), solar panels, forestry and carbon farming, yet the vast majority of emissions savings arising from these activities will be credited to other sectors and not to agriculture,” Cullinan said.
“This is completely unfair and it must be addressed in the ongoing discussions between the two ministers,” he added.
The IFA president said that Minister Ryan’s officials had pointed to these activities again this week at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture Food and the Marine as the main ways farmers could cut emissions.
“It had to be pointed out to them that these reductions would be counted against other sectors emissions, not agriculture,” he said.
“Under the minister’s proposals Irish farmers will be helping other sectors to achieve their targets and getting no credit for it themselves.
“Farmers must get the full credit for our contribution to reducing emissions,” the IFA president concluded.