Carbon emissions from food production need to be treated differently – Varadkar

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said carbon emissions from producing food need to be treated differently when it comes to tackling climate change.

Speaking on Thursday morning at a progress report on the Government’s Climate Action Plan, the Taoiseach said that emissions from food production cannot be viewed the same as carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels in the transport or energy sector.

Right now the international community treats emissions from food production the same as those from the transport or energy sector. But they’re not the same

“I think we need to treat food production differently in how we tackle climate change,” said Varadkar.

“Right now the international community treats emissions from food production the same as those from the transport or energy sector. But they’re not the same.

"I think the international community needs to have a conversation about how we calculate emissions from food production because we have to feed people.

Ireland is responsible for the food that’s being consumed in other countries

"Ireland is a country of 5 million people but we produce enough food to feed 50 million. Ireland is responsible for the food that’s being consumed in other countries,” he said.

When asked if Ireland needed to cut the size of its dairy and beef herd, Varadkar said culling cattle numbers was not the Government’s policy to tackle carbon emissions from farming.

“Reducing the national herd would be the last resort. Some people believe we should reduce our meat consumption to help tackle climate change, but even tillage farming releases CO2 into the atmosphere. So we need to treat food production differently when it comes to the climate debate,” said Varadkar.