A public consultation to guide the development of a national carbon farming framework has been announced by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
The consultation has been launched by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue and Minister of State at the DAFM, Martin Heydon today (Tuesday, September 26).
Carbon farming aims to sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and store it in soils and reward farmers for reducing emissions and increasing carbon sequestration.
However, to generate an income from removing and storing carbon in soils, forests, grasslands, croplands and hedgerows, a well functioning framework is essential, the minister said.
“It is now timely to access ideas and insights from the public relating to the creation of a carbon farming framework that will support and reward farmers/landowners to meet national climate objectives.
“A credible framework is a necessary first step to support our farmers/land managers in the areas of carbon removal, emission reductions, and ecosystem services,” Minister McConalogue added.
Carbon farming
This comes as a proposal for a voluntary framework for carbon removal across Europe made by the European Commission in 2022 is currently being discussed in the European Parliament and Council.
From a national perspective, carbon farming can be a “key enabler” to assist the sector in meeting Ireland’s climate targets as set out in its Climate Action Plan 2023, the DAFM said.
However, Minister McConalogue said that in the development of carbon farming, it is important to note that many challenges and uncertainty still remains.
This includes the establishment of baseline data, quantification and verification of emission reductions, and certification processes. The DAFM continues to work in this area.
Public consultation
The public consultation seeks views to inform how the national framework for carbon farming is customised to an Irish context through a high-level online survey, the DAFM said.
The consultation will cover areas of importance to farmers, landowners, and foresters who have been calling for initiatives to support their participation in voluntary carbon markets.
Parallel to the public consultation, a multi-stakeholder working group is being established to oversee the development of the framework for carbon farming, the DAFM said.
The findings of this consultation will then inform the working group’s decision making on the scope of the framework. Key areas will include:
- Identifying existing knowledge relevant to the establishment of baseline data;
- Making recommendations for pathways to address knowledge gaps;
- Assessing future auditing requirements;
- The development of voluntary carbon codes;
- Examining the possibility to leverage private financing through public/private partnerships; and the
- Identification of best-practice governance structures.
The DAFM has been developing and supporting initiatives to gather national baseline data (current carbon stocks/emissions) for a range of activities, Minister Heydon said.
These include the National Agricultural Soil Carbon Observatory and the pilot Soil Sampling Programme, along with a range of research projects on peat soils, he added.
The DAFM has, for a number of years, been involved in similar initiatives under the Woodland Environmental Fund and Agroforestry Scheme.
“We can clearly see the benefit to both participant and government of incentivising not only on-farm tree planting but a broad range of carbon farming practices,” Minister McConalogue said.
In particular, the Woodland Environment Fund provides a pre-existing model for targeted payments to land managers for their positive environmental activities, he added.