Seven facilities in Ireland emitted as much as 70% of dairy cows last year, according to the director of policy and chief economist of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), Tadhg Buckley.
Data shows that agriculture accounted for 10.20% of total carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent emissions in Ireland last year, while fossil fuel operations and transportation accounted for 17.16% and 14.29% respectively.
Dublin Airport emitted over one million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions last year, which equates to 226,414 dairy cows, or 15% of the total dairy cow herd in Ireland, according to Buckley.
The facilities with the highest emissions in Ireland are Dublin Airport; Drogheda Cement Plant; Ballyconnell Cement Plant; Limerick Cement Plant; Whitegate Oil Refinery; Corrib Gas Field; and Kinnegad Cement Plant.
Speaking to Agriland, Buckley said other sectors are also emitting significant amounts of emissions, and therefore the entire economy has to be considered rather than making agriculture “the poorest performer in the class”.
“Instead of focussing on what agriculture is trying to do, the focus tends to be instead on how much emissions agriculture accounts for, and often at the exclusion of looking at any other sector.
“We are the only sector that is actually in the process of developing a plan. No other sector is actually putting together a credible plan on how they are going to meet their emissions reduction target,” Buckley said.
Using Climate TRACE data, 2021 dairy herd numbers based on data by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), and emissions per cow by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), he said his calculation shows it is not just about agriculture.
Meanwhile, Minister of State at the DAFM, Pippa Hackett said there is an entire industry in the built environment that is not considered in the same way in the climate change battle as other industries.
Addressing the issue in the Seanad yesterday (Tuesday, November 15), the minister said producing 1t of cement and steel releases 0.6t and 1.85t of CO2 respectively, whereas producing 1t of wood absorbs about 1.75t of CO2.
Minister Hackett said that if Ireland is serious about tackling climate change, the use of timber in construction has to be considered, as currently the vast majority of buildings are made from concrete and steel.