Seanad debates

Wednesday, 6 December 2017

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015: Statements

 

10:30 am

Photo of Michael CreedMichael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to be here today. As Senators will have heard from my colleague, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, our first national mitigation plan was published in July. As my Department covers one of the key sectors involved in that process, I am very pleased to present the annual transition statement for the agriculture, forest and land-use sector and, in particular, to outline the efforts the sector is making to address our climate obligations. It is important at the outset to set out the long-term vision for the sector and what it is we are trying to achieve, which is an approach to carbon neutrality which does not compromise our capacity for sustainable food production. While carbon neutrality has yet to be fully defined, the aim is to balance agricultural emissions by increasing carbon sequestration, reducing emissions and increasing fossil fuel and energy intensive materials displacement. This is not an easy task.

The achievement of carbon neutrality is both challenging and complex, which has been recognised by the Climate Change Advisory Council. Recent EPA projections show that overall national emissions have risen by 3.5% while agriculture emissions increased by 2.7% in 2016. However, it is not all bad news as emissions in agriculture remain 3.5% below their 1990 levels and we have seen a decoupling of emissions from output. I will give the House an example. In the five-year period 2012 to 2016, dairy cow numbers increased by 22% and corresponding milk production increased by 27%, but emissions increased by just 8%. That said, we are not complacent and clearly recognise the need for further improvement, in particular the need to contribute to the overall national requirement to reduce emissions by a proposed 30% by 2030.

We continue to promote efficiency of food production, afforestation, sustainable forest management and enhanced soil sequestration. In addition, we are encouraging the mobilisation of biomaterials and residues to displace fossil fuel and other energy intensive materials, including by promoting a wider use of wood products in the built environment and elsewhere. We are also investing heavily in climate change actions through our research funding programmes. Such research is not only key to informing policy interventions but one such research project - Agri-1 - has lead to changes in our national inventories and that has impacted positively on compliance with our climate targets. Based on 2016 provisional greenhouse gas emission figures, the indications are that Ireland will now be in compliance with the 2016 effort-sharing decision annual limit.

The sector's contribution to the national mitigation plan consists of a number of cross-cutting measures with benefits for climate change adaptation, water quality, biodiversity and rural development. These include a number of forest measures as afforestation is one of the primary opportunities for the sequestration of agricultural emissions and a key agricultural investment priority. My Department has supported the establishment of over 300,000 ha of forest since 1990 and over 9,000 km of forest roads. In 2016, over 1 million cubic metres of domestically sourced forest based biomass was used for energy production in Ireland.In addition to the mitigation measures, over 30 actions have been identified in the plan to advance our emission reductions obligation in the land use sector. I will highlight some specific examples where progress is being made. I already mentioned decoupling sector growth from gross emissions. This achievement has been delivered as a result of continued research, advances in animal genetics, health and nutrition, and through optimising the use of fertilisers. Over 50,000 farmers have joined GLAS, with 4,700 farmers committing to low emission slurry spreading techniques, with consequent reductions in CO² and ammonia emissions. There are approximately 2,600 farmers planting 26,000 ha of catch crops annually which prevents soil erosion and absorbs nutrients. There are carbon sequestration and biodiversity benefits arising from the planting of 1,300 km of new hedges, 1,300 traditional orchards and 5,000 groves of native trees. The carbon sequestration potential of these 5,000 groves of trees on their own, which equates to approximately 450 ha of woodland, is around 900 tonnes of CO² annually.

In terms of maintenance and improvement in water quality, almost 12,000 farmers have committed to excluding cattle from almost 17,000 km of watercourses for the next five years. The beef data genetics programme has attracted almost 24,000 applicants under tranche 1, another almost 1,700 applicants under a second tranche. Over 900,000 animals have been genotyped. On the energy side of things farmers are availing of energy efficiency investment options under TAMS II pig and poultry and the young farmers capital investment schemes. Both agri-industry and farmers are committing to the Origin programme rolled out by Bord Bia which includes the completion of carbon calculators by farmers on their individual farms.

It not possible in the time available to go through each and every measure but I hope those that I have outlined gives Senators a flavour of the range of measures being undertaken in the sector. The agriculture sector is serving multiple objectives, from producing sustainable food, biomass and wood products to sequestering carbon and providing other essential eco services including for water and biodiversity. It is these multiple objectives that make it different to the other sectors that Senators have heard about over the last week.

At international level the role of agriculture in tackling climate change and achieving the ambitions of the Paris climate agreement is well recognised. This is evidenced by the decision on agriculture taken at the most recent COP meeting in Bonn under the Fijian presidency last month, which the Irish delegation played a key role in achieving. Climate vulnerability and building resilience is also something that is high on the international agenda, as it is for us here in Ireland. My Department has published a non-statutory adaptation planning document for the agriculture and forest sector under the 2012 national climate change adaptation framework. The document is a first step towards reducing vulnerability and building resilience in the agriculture and forest sector. As expected, the analysis undertaken as part of that process found that climate change has affected and will continue to affect all areas of the agriculture and forest sector. Building resilience and reducing the vulnerability of the sector is key. I should also mention that a draft adaptation plan for the marine sector is also being prepared and I expect this to proceed to a public consultation in the coming months.

We have a thriving agrifood sector that is efficient and environmentally conscious. We will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure that the sector continues to play its part in meeting our climate obligations and challenges.

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