Time to back Teagasc climate plan says IFA

IFA president, Joe Healy, said it’s time to end to the climate blame game.
“Farmers can no longer be blamed for the climate inaction of others. Lazy analysis points to the largest proportion of climate emissions coming from agriculture,” he said.
He noted the facts in the EPA’s report are stark: “greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, particularly in transport, where emissions have increased by over 137% since 1990. During the same period emissions from the agri-food sector increased marginally by 1%.
Regarding the annual change in climate emissions attributed to agriculture, the IFA president said that it was important to view these in their right context.
“Farmers development plans were stifled between 1984 and 2015, until the EU milk quota system was removed. The increase in output since 2015 has been important for farmers and their families.
“It has improved their economic sustainability as well as the social and economic sustainability of rural areas. Farming has also led a resource efficient development of the sector,” he pointed out.
Mr Healy also highlighted that farmers are not getting sufficient credit for the carbon they were sequestering through hedgerows and grasslands which was causing frustration.