Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 2 November 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action

Reduction of Carbon Emissions of 51% by 2030: Discussion (Resumed)

Photo of Brian LeddinBrian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party)
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Okay. It is a public consultation so everybody who has an interest should feed into that and try to shape it.

I thank you, Mr. Traas, for your contributions. You mentioned the 11 tonnes per hectare of sequestration.

Mr. Traas identifies that number as quite low. In the context of the full emissions in agriculture, one would need thousands of hectares in order to make a significant impact. There are also the carbon savings from import substitution and maybe diversified land away from say dairy, which is highly emitting, to say horticulture. It seems that once one adds up some of the impacts of this kind of diversification and production of tillage crops in Ireland, there might be a much greater carbon dividend.

I am curious about the other opportunities. Mr. Traas’s area is apple farming and generating produce from that. However, could he speak about other diversification opportunities, particularly with respect to horticulture, that we might have in Ireland? I am hearing that there might be a significant carbon dividend from that.