Irish farmers haven’t received the recognition for their efforts on climate action to date that they should have, due to the nature of the changes they make, Fine Gael senators have said.
The party’s senators noted that the farming community stands to be the most impacted – but “will be the most impactful” on the outcomes of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill working its way through the Dáil and Seanad.
Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail senators proposed an amendment to the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021 in the Seanad last week to ensure carbon removals or sequestrations are explicitly stated in the context of carbon budgets as Ireland aims to become carbon neutral by 2050.
On behalf of the Fine Gael Senators, senator Regina Doherty said: “The importance of removals warrants their inclusion in the bill to be explicitly stated as opposed to implicitly implied, as was the case until [Friday] morning.
“Farmers know the land and the climate more than anyone else – they see the changes first-hand and know how important taking action will be.”
Senator Doherty noted that this is “something that is already happening now and has been for years”, adding:
“Due to the nature of the changes farmers make, and often the difficulty in measuring the impacts, farmers haven’t received the recognition for their efforts that they should have.
“One of our biggest weapons to ensure climate neutrality by 2050 will be carbon sequestration or removals, and that will only happen with the support of our farmers,” she said.
Fine Gael’s Seanad spokesperson on agriculture, Food and Marine Tim Lombard said:
“[Friday] afternoon I proposed the amendment to the Climate Action Bill so that we give due recognition for carbon sequestration.
“This is a game-changer for the agricultural community – it gives recognition for their ability to remove or capture carbon into our soils, our bogs and our hedgerows when it comes to the carbon budgets for agriculture.
“I am delighted that Minister Ryan has accepted the amendment to the climate bill that will allow recognition for carbon removals as part of sectoral targets and carbon budgets,” senator Lombard concluded.