Photo: © Eamon Mc / Shutterstock.com

Ireland intends to cut farm emissions by a quarter by 2030

Greenhouse gas emissions from Ireland’s farming sector must drop by 25 per cent by 2030. This was announced by the Irish coalition government in July and is part of the country’s climate pledge to halve all carbon emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. Ireland is a bit of an outlier when it comes to farm emissions. Cattle outnumber the human population, which results in the highest per capita methane emissions in the European Union. Just over a third of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions come from the agricultural sector. The new sectoral target was a compromise between farmers who wanted 22 per cent reductions and environmental groups and other sectors who wanted agriculture to cut emissions by 30 per cent.

Friends of the Earth CEO Oisín Coghlan commented on the deal in a press release: “25% is lower than we need from agriculture. It makes other sectors’ emission cuts even more challenging as they’ll now have to pick up the slack and make cuts of around 65%.” “On the other hand 25% is not what the agri-lobbyists wanted either. The last few weeks have shown that the Irish Farmers’ Association don’t have a veto on Irish climate policy like they used to.

They said that anything more than 22% would impact the current business model for Irish agriculture.” Other sectors face significantly greater emission reductions according to the deal: a 75% cut from electricity, a 50% cut from transport, as well as 45% and 40% emission reductions for commercial and residential buildings respectively. There is no common understanding of what the new 2030 target will mean for livestock numbers. According to calculations by the Irish Farmers’ Journal it would entail a 13% decrease in the beef herd and 11% in dairy cattle. Meanwhile, the Irish Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, has stated that no farmer will be forced to reduce their herd as a result of the climate plan.

This should be seen in the light of steady expansion in the dairy herd, since the EU milk quotas were scrapped in 2015. However, there is no reason to doubt that the long-term net-zero goal will require transformative changes to Irish agriculture. According to a recently published research study in Nature Sustainability, the number of livestock in Ireland would need to be halved in combination with major afforestation efforts.

Kajsa Pira

Sources: The Guardian, 29 July 2022, Ireland targets 25% cut in agriculture emissions but farmers voice anger https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/29/ireland-targets-25-cut-agr...

Friends of the Earth Ireland, press release 28 July 2022, https://www.foe.ie/press/25-emissionreductions-is-lower-than-we-need-fro...

Irish Farmers Journal, 28 July 2022, Ireland targets 25% cut in agriculture emissions but farmers voice anger https://www.farmersjournal.ie/analysis-whatthe-25-emissions-cut-means-fo...

RTÉ, 28 July 2022, No farmer will be forced to cut herd – McConalogue, https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2022/0728/1312636-emissions-ireland/

Financial Times, 28 July 2022, Hard-fought deal reached on cutting Irish farms’ greenhouse emissions, https://www.ft.com/content/ce6433a2-7756-498e-b26a-c4c0fc3050ed

Duffy et al. (2022). Randomized national land management strategies for net-zero emissions. Nature Sustain

AgricultureGHG emissionsIrelandPolitics

In this issue

EU must step up energy shift

Paris Agreement compatible scenarios need the EU to do much more to reduce emissions and increase renewables and energy savings.

Editorial: The EU can and must take stronger climate action

With the sustained heat, drought and forest fires that are wreaking havoc across Europe, one would think European countries would be incentivised to increase action to tackle climate change.

Keys to meet the 1.5°C target

Climate Action Network International (CAN) has issued several statements and articles in 2022 outlining how the UN should act on science policy in reviewing the long-term goal of the Climate Convention at COP 27.

European Union prepares for winter

In September, the European Parliament voted on several proposals to address the energy crisis. Meanwhile the EU Commission proposed a new law to manage energy prices.

Scientists agree: 100% renewable energy is possible

An increasing number of research studies show that an energy system based solely on renewable energy sources is possible by or before 2050.

Corporate leadership? Few businesses pledge to reduce their flying

Whilst corporate leaders pledge to reduce the climate impact of their businesses, too few go the extra mile and tackle the problem of air travel emissions.

Denmark aims to build world’s first energy island

An artificial island, with wind power and installations to convert excess energy into fuel, is planned in the North Sea. When completed it may provide electricity for 10 million households.

Member states are struggling to meet NEC directive

In 2020, less than half of member states met all their national emission reduction commitments. Only two of them are already in line with their 2030 commitments.

Improve communication on air quality research

More than half of Europeans do not feel well informed about their local air quality, according to a 2019 EU Commission survey.

Condensable aerosols contribute to inconsistent reporting

Condensable primary organic aerosol emissions, described from here on as condensables, are organic compounds that occur in the gas (vapour) phase at the chimney stack, but as the stack air is cooled and diluted, they can undergo both condensation and evaporation processes.

Wind technologies for cleaner shipping

A large ongoing EU project demonstrates that the expansion of direct wind propulsion technologies for ships will be an important and impactful step towards cleaner shipping.

Towards a Latin American agenda for a just socio-ecological transition

Climate Action Network Latin America hosted a series of regional dialogues during 2021 on how to jointly advance the climate, biodiversity and human rights agendas.

Ireland intends to cut farm emissions by a quarter by 2030

Greenhouse gas emissions from Ireland’s farming sector must drop by 25 per cent by 2030.

Navigating nitrogen

“The less fossil-fuel-based fertilisers we use, the less dependent we are on fossil fuel imports, ”Ursula von der Leyen stated in a response to one of the group leaders’ interventions just after her “State of the European Union” speech in the European Parliament on 14 September 2022.¹

How iron and steel emissions can be cut

The huge emissions from the steel industry can be virtually eliminated by using hydrogen from green power, or from other electric processes. CCS is not used, not needed and not likely to be a mitigation option.

Particles from electric vehicles

Electric cars cause more wear and tear on road and tyres due to the extra weight of the battery. Nevertheless they have lower net particle emissions than normal cars.

Climate change is everywhere – so is marine litter

As heavy rains and storms become more frequent more litter will be transported to the sea. Marine litter is projected to triple by 2040.

Failure or success of air pollution policies in Delhi?

The severe air pollution events in Delhi due to sharp economic and population growth have been widely reported.

Call for loss and damage and climate finance

The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) is urging support for the adoption of loss and damage response finance at COP27 in Egypt in November 2022.

Main menu

Ireland intends to cut farm emissions by a quarter by 2030

In this issue

EU must step up energy shift

Editorial: The EU can and must take stronger climate action

Keys to meet the 1.5°C target

European Union prepares for winter

Scientists agree: 100% renewable energy is possible

Corporate leadership? Few businesses pledge to reduce their flying

Denmark aims to build world’s first energy island

Member states are struggling to meet NEC directive

Improve communication on air quality research

Condensable aerosols contribute to inconsistent reporting

Wind technologies for cleaner shipping

Towards a Latin American agenda for a just socio-ecological transition

Ireland intends to cut farm emissions by a quarter by 2030

Navigating nitrogen

How iron and steel emissions can be cut

Particles from electric vehicles

Climate change is everywhere – so is marine litter

Failure or success of air pollution policies in Delhi?

Call for loss and damage and climate finance

Publications

Food for Thought

Northern forests, climate change and the UNFCCC

EU climate targets aligned with the Paris agreement’s 1.5°C objective

Baltic Sea Offshore Wind Collaborative-Learning project

Air pollution in Europe and children’s health

Climate Change: A Himalayan Odessey

No further discussion needed. The agreed global goal is to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C

Fossil-free electricity 2021

What we do

Air pollution

Climate Change

Policy initiatives

Do Your Bit!