No measure in the Government’s forthcoming climate action plan will be “forced on farmers”, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has said.
The Cabinet is set to sign off on the climate action plan for 2023 at a meeting on Wednesday. Ministers will meet beforehand for a Cabinet committee on climate meeting today to finalise the details. The plan will set out how each sector, including agriculture, will achieve their carbon emissions targets. Farmers have been particularly concerned about any plans for a reduction in the suckler and dairy herd.
The plan will target a 20 per cent cut in the number of kilometres travelled by cars. A source this weekend said that the plan has largely been agreed and was ready for ministerial approval.
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A draft of the plan also required a 10 per cent reduction in cattle by 2030.
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Mr McConalogue, who was reappointed to his post this week, has insisted that any measures contained in the plan will be voluntary for farmers.
“The agri-food sector is committed to reducing our emissions over the course of the decade by 25 per cent. Our focus is on ensuring that agriculture continues to be a world-class producer of food while we step out our climate ambitions. We are finalising the details of the climate action plan where we outline how we continue on the journey of being the sustainable food capital of the world,” he said.
“There will be no measure in the climate action plan that will be forced upon farmers. All measures will be voluntary and aimed at supporting our farmers to continue to produce world-class food while also diversifying income streams through tillage, energy generation and forestry.”
Mr McConalogue said he is “committed to delivering on the three pillars of sustainability in agriculture — environmental, societal and, crucially, economic. Separately, through the Food Vision 2030 group … the sector has already committed to a 10 per cent reduction in methane by 2030. This does not directly correlate to a 10 per cent reduction in numbers. I will continue to work with farm organisations and farm families on how we will deliver on our overall climate ambitions.”
‘Playing their part’
Speaking on Monday, Minister for Climate Eamon Ryan said that different sectors had different goals that they must meet.
“Agriculture much less than others; agriculture is about a quarter of the emissions [that] have to reduce. In transport it’s about half, in the likes of energy it’s up to 75 per cent. So some sectors will have to do more than others, but every sector will have to play its part,” said Mr Ryan.
He said the national herd is likely to reduce, but also emphasised that this would be voluntary.
“There will be lower numbers of cattle, but there will be higher income for a whole variety of different farming groups,” he said.
Remote working
Mr Ryan was also asked about measures to reduce the number of kilometres travelled by cars on the roads.
“We do need to switch towards much more public transport, much more active travel — but also reduce the need for travel. We are using things like changes that are happening in remote working, in town centre-first strategies, in building back in the centre of our cities so there’s not necessarily everyone having to do a long commute.”
He said a pivot in the transport sector is needed and that “no one should underestimate the scale of that change and the challenge”.
