Ms Sadhbh O'Neill:

I will respond to Senator Dooley's point about land abandonment, without getting into the other issues. I hear him clearly on that. The land use review addresses the issue of land abandonment, and the fact that it can have a negative impact on biodiversity. These issues are extraordinarily complex and it is important for the committee to dive into the report in as much detail as possible to tease out the pros and cons. Another point is that we are facing into an era where our choices are disappearing. The IPCC has said over and over that the window of opportunity is receding and is closing at this point. The longer we wait to take action, the more drastic the steps will have to be. Unfortunately that is going to be even more politically contentious for many sectors and for the whole of society. It is incumbent upon us to heed the warnings of the scientific community and the climate scientists. That means reducing our emissions by at least 50% by 2030. In the agricultural and land use sector, it means accelerating the efforts to stem the loss of carbon and to increase the uptake of carbon sequestration. There are really few win-wins left if we leave it any longer.