The Oireachtas committee on climate action unanimously adopted its recommendations on agriculture this Wednesday night, but remained locked in discussions in other chapters of its final report.The Irish Farmers Journal understands that the farming recommendations include support for Teagasc’s costed list of measures to tackle greenhouse gas emissions from farms, a strategy for the development of biogas production, a hedgerow survey, a review of national land use, a forestry audit and support for Knowledge Transfer schemes on environmental efficiency.
The Oireachtas committee on climate action unanimously adopted its recommendations on agriculture this Wednesday night, but remained locked in discussions in other chapters of its final report.
The Irish Farmers Journal understands that the farming recommendations include support for Teagasc’s costed list of measures to tackle greenhouse gas emissions from farms, a strategy for the development of biogas production, a hedgerow survey, a review of national land use, a forestry audit and support for Knowledge Transfer schemes on environmental efficiency.
It also recommends that a forum to support diversification in agriculture should be established.
No farm carbon tax
The committee did not recommend a carbon tax on emissions from livestock and soils at farm level as suggested by the Citizens' Assembly in 2017. The only amendment on the agriculture chapter of the report came from Solidarity-People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith, asking the Department of Finance to study the possibility of a carbon tax on the profit of large agri-food processors. It remained to be voted on late Wednesday night.
Disagreement remained on other controversial points including the level of carbon tax on fossil fuels for the coming years and discussions are scheduled to continue on Thursday. Sources indicated that the committee had pushed back the publication of its report by a week. A flurry of amendments in the last 24 hours is believed to be the cause of the delay.
Additional reporting by Thomas Hubert.
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