The Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS) has warned that there is “no clear path” to achieving a reduction of 25% in agricultural emissions by 2030 without the development of new technologies and innovations.
ICOS president James O’Donnell said this afternoon (Friday, July 29) that he was “extremely concerned” at the reduction target of 25% for the agriculture sector (relative to 2018 levels), which was announced by the government yesterday.
He said that ICOS recognises the responsibility to reduce emissions, but that this goal “must be balanced against the need to protect food security and the viability of our rural businesses and communities”.
“The target set is legally binding and must be met by the sector. This will result in significant change at farm and co-op level as a result.
“We need to be honest about the implications. Unfortunately, again we see a target established without a concrete plan as to how the target will be achieved,” O’Donnell remarked.
He argued: “The reality is that there isn’t a clear pathway to a 25% reduction in emissions from agriculture without new technologies and innovation.”
ICOS is the representative body for co-operatives, and O’Donnell defended their role in achieving climate targets.
“Co-ops are responsible businesses and we have an important role in supporting and helping our shareholders with our sustainability goals, which we are currently doing and will intensify over the coming period.”
“There are measures that we need to progress urgently, such as the widespread use of protected urea in the short to medium term, for example,” the ICOS president noted.
“However, be in no doubt. The odds are stacked against agriculture in its efforts to reduce emissions as the current accounting framework for emissions is not fit for purpose,” he stressed.
O’Donnell went on to highlight that farmers, and the agriculture sector in general, will not see a contribution to meeting their emissions target through renewable energy (which will be credited towards energy production), nor will farmers get credit for sequestration from planting trees or hedgerows (which will be counted in the separate land use, land use change and forestry sector).
“This remains an unacceptable element of the government’s approach to climate change,” he argued.