A foremost authority on climate change believes the scope exists to bring a test court case against the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), challenging the emissions targets contained within Irish legislation.
Former director of sustainability at Devenish Nutrition, Prof. John Gilliland, has pointed to the fact that current climate change targets take account of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission values only.
“No recognition is taken of the carbon sequestration that takes place on all our farms on a daily basis,” he said.
“Climate change policy should be based on net emission values. And this matter must be rectified as a matter of priority.”
Could there be a test court case
So could Gilliland’s assertion provide a legal basis for Irish farming organisations to legally challenge any move by the government to reduce the size of Ireland’s national cattle herd?
Gilliland made the comments while addressing members of the Guild of Agricultural Journalists of Ireland earlier this week.
The venue was the 1,200 tillage and livestock farm managed by the Best family, near the village of Acton in south Co. Down.
Host, Simon Best, is actively involved in Northern Ireland’s ARCZero programme, of which John Gilliland is chair.
Over the past two years the total quantities of soil and above ground carbon on the Best farm have been accurately measured. The figures are staggering.
Total soil carbon – to a depth of 30cm – amounts to 65,000t. The equivalent above ground figure comes in at 1,800t, bringing the total for the farm as a whole up to 66,800t.
John Gilliland said:
“This works out at 244,407t of carbon dioxide equivalent. The challenge for Simon and all other farmers is to manage the carbon that is within their farm businesses in the most effective way possible.”
Simon Best acknowledged the need to produce crops and livestock in the most efficient way possible. However, he also recognises the need to farm in ways that are compatible with nature and the environment a whole.
Environmental schemes
He used the visit of Guild members to flag up his concerns about the termination of Northern Ireland’s Countryside Management Scheme.
“What’s most worrying is the fact that there is no follow-on environmental scheme to replace it.”
John Gilliland confirmed the ground-breaking work carried out under the auspices of the ARCZero programme over the past couple of years.
“We are now recognising the value of soil texture classification,” he said.
“The mineral fraction of soils is divided up into three categories – clay, silt and sand. Significantly, clay content is directly linked to a soil’s ability to actively bind carbon.
“This will be a key indicator for the future as farmers seek to secure higher levels of sequestered carbon within their soils.”