Mr. Jer Bergin:

I thank the committee for the invitation to address it. I apologise on behalf of our president, Mr. John Bryan, who is unable to attend today. I am accompanied by our general secretary, Mr. Pat Smith, our environmental executive, Mr. Thomas Ryan, and the chairman of our environmental committee, Mr. Harold Kingston. I will make my submission briefly and then take questions.

I acknowledge the consultative approach that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, has taken to the development of climate policy and his decision that divisive and unachievable national targets will not be part of future legislation and climate strategy.

Farmers in Ireland are among the world's leaders in sustainable emission-efficient food production. Greenhouse gas emissions per litre of milk have reduced by over 13% since 1990. The beef sector has the fifth lowest carbon footprint in the European Union. The fall in fertiliser use over the past decade is equal to an annual reduction of 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent from the sector. The agri-food sector is making a real contribution to the economy. This must be taken into account in the deliberations. The sector contributed over €9 billion in exports last year. It supports 300,000 jobs in all parts of the country. It produces enough beef each year to feed 30 million Europeans, and our dairy sector produces over 15% of the world's infant formula, and there are plans to increase this to 20%.

The opportunities in the sector need to be taken into account. It is self-evident that the world needs more food. Over the next 40 years, demand will increase by over 60%. Global milk consumption is set to increase by 104% and meat demand by 88%. Farmers in Ireland have a track record of producing these commodities successfully and sustainably. However, internationally not all regions are in a similar position to deliver. Droughts and other resource stresses in much of the southern hemisphere will lead to a reduction in cereal crop and livestock productivity.

Ireland is different. Our grass-based emissions-efficient model of food production, combined with the abundance of other resources such as water, although sometimes a little too much, makes Ireland the envy of other major agri-food economies such as those in the southern hemisphere. This is our point of difference and growth opportunity for the agri-food sector and the national economy. It is essential that future climate policy does not stifle the sustainable expansion of this major exporting sector.

Achieving the EU 2020 target will be very challenging. Current policies alone will not deliver the required reduction in emissions from the non-ETS sector. The EPA's scenario analysis shows that even if the Government placed a renewed focus on additional measures, such as the full implementation of the renewable action plan, an emissions-reduction gap would continue to exist. Therefore, to achieve compliance based on least-cost strategy, the purchase of carbon credits will have to be considered.

However, the Government can do more to assist in the reduction of emissions. For example, the Irish forestry sector provides a range of opportunities to mitigate rises in emissions through afforestation, forest management, increased use of wood products and the use of wood products for bioenergy to replace fossil fuel use. The total carbon reservoir, or store in Irish forests, currently amounts to approximately 1 billion tonnes of CO₂, while the removal of CO₂ exceeds 6 million tonnes per annum. To maintain and improve on this, we would need to see a doubling of the current afforestation rate, from approximately 6,500 or 7,000 hectares to 15,000 hectares per annum over the next two decades.

A number of issues affect the forestry sector. They are separate and need to be addressed. There are restrictions and investment in resources is required. There are difficulties with access to planting in unenclosed lands, for example. Changes in this regard would be very helpful in meeting the targets required.

Renewable energy policy foresees a major growth in the use and demand for biomass for energy production to achieve EU 2020 targets. The negative experiences of farmers who diversified into bioenergy crops such as miscanthus, and the damaged reputation of the bioenergy sector among farmers due to lack of supports for market development, mean that the demand for biomass will have to be sourced from the forestry sector. If EU 2020 targets and the annual afforestation programme targets are to be achieved, barriers such as felling licences for thinning and inadequate REFITs in this area must be addressed.

The biggest asset of Irish agriculture is its permanent pasture base. Some 90% of the total agricultural area is grassland. This permanent pasture stores carbon and provides an environmental competitive advantage for beef and dairy herds when compared to the high concentrate diets and deforestation associated with other international agricultural regions.

Currently, carbon credits from carbon sinks such as the permanent grassland and our agri-forestry are not attributed to agriculture. Ireland has the highest level of carbon-sequestering permanent pastures in Europe which, when combined with the opportunity to expand forest cover, can promote a substantial national carbon sink. CO₂ emission reductions achieved through natural carbon sinks, such as forests and grassland, must be included in the overall measurement of the contribution of the agriculture sector to emissions reductions as part of future climate policy. I would like to see the committee considering this further.

The key question is where we go from here. Dr. Rory O'Donnell of the National Economic and Social Council, NESC, said it is a question of moving from “how much” to “how to”. In the NESC report, there are three major principles that the IFA supports and ought to be central to climate change policy development. First, action on carbon must be consistent with economic recovery. Second, there is a need to achieve decarbonisation that is gradual and permanent rather than have compliance with specific targets and timetables. Finally, there ought to be acceptance that, in many instances, an immediate solution does not exist and, therefore, actions, technologies and practices which can achieve decarbonisation take considerable time to make themselves felt. There is no silver bullet.

The need to ensure that action is consistent with economic recovery is an extremely important principle for the agriculture sector. As I stated, the sector is at the heart of the Irish economy, particularly its rural economy.

As outlined, the growth is sustainable growth built on emission-efficient food production, with emissions from the livestock and dairy sectors amongst the lowest in Europe. The future growth path for the sector is mapped out in the Food Harvest 2020 report, which is an industry-led plan that identifies the potential for the agri-food sector to grow our export value to €12 billion annually within this decade. Despite concerns expressed by the Institute of International and European Affairs when it addressed this committee in 2012, and other environmental groups, Food Harvest 2020 is a plan that has environmental sustainability at its core and is based on smart green growth. This point is supported by a Teagasc 2012 preliminary study on the environmental analysis of Food Harvest 2020 which reported that, in principle, there is potential for the industry to meet simultaneously the Food Harvest 2020 growth targets and the environmental targets.

Consider the Need to Achieve Decarbonisation that is gradual and permanent. To support the delivery of this principle as set out by NESC, the IFA examined the marginal abatement cost curve, MACC, for Irish agriculture produced by Teagasc in 2012, which sets out abatement potential of greenhouse gas mitigation measures and the relative costs associated with each of these measures as they affect agriculture. From that MACC curve, it became clear that the most beneficial measures for emission reductions from the sector are in the practical areas such as extended grazing, better soil fertility and animal breeding. Basically, better on-farm resource management in these areas is good for the environment and can also provide cost savings to farmers. My colleague Mr. Harold Kingston will elaborate on this.

To develop this further, the IFA is currently working with other stakeholders from the sector to develop a smart farming initiative that highlights ways for farmers to reduce farm bills and environmental impact, and maximise output through better resource management. The adoption of the measures contained in this guide will lead to gradual and permanent emission reductions, driven by economics and environment together. Most critical, there would be buy-in from farmers on the ground and full understanding of how proposals could work.

Last week, Moorepark, which is now the leading dairy research facility, had its open day. Some 10,000 farmers, mostly dairy farmers, were in attendance. All the research modules and work under way were demonstrated to farmers in a practical way.