Prof Cathal O’Donoghue’s recent study – The Economics of Afforestation and Management in Ireland: Future Prospects and Plans – has been a wake-up call for forestry and agriculture in Ireland.
The report maintains that annual afforestation needs to increase to 18,000ha to achieve net zero by 2050. It makes the claim that if recent Government afforestation targets had been met, “then it would have been possible to sequester over time all the emissions from the increase in animal numbers over this period, in effect allowing for carbon-neutral dairy expansion”.
It goes on: “The further this target is missed, the greater will be the need to deliver reductions from other sources, including agriculture.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Challenge
The enormity of the challenge is acknowledged by all the stakeholders featured in the Focus feature, who will be charged with the task of delivering a viable forestry programme. They believe that existing Department structures will result in business as usual as they were never designed to respond to the challenges and opportunities as outlined.
As reported by Michael Guilfoyle and Donal Magner, it is now clear that a new and innovative approach that actually incentivises farmers and other landowners to afforest part of their land while addressing barriers to afforestation and harvesting is required.
We have been down this road before but the O’Donoghue report is a stark reminder of what needs to be achieved.
Register for free to read this story and our free stories.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
CODE ACCEPTED
You have full access to the site until next Wednesday at 9pm.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact support.
Prof Cathal O’Donoghue’s recent study – The Economics of Afforestation and Management in Ireland: Future Prospects and Plans – has been a wake-up call for forestry and agriculture in Ireland.
The report maintains that annual afforestation needs to increase to 18,000ha to achieve net zero by 2050. It makes the claim that if recent Government afforestation targets had been met, “then it would have been possible to sequester over time all the emissions from the increase in animal numbers over this period, in effect allowing for carbon-neutral dairy expansion”.
It goes on: “The further this target is missed, the greater will be the need to deliver reductions from other sources, including agriculture.”
Challenge
The enormity of the challenge is acknowledged by all the stakeholders featured in the Focus feature, who will be charged with the task of delivering a viable forestry programme. They believe that existing Department structures will result in business as usual as they were never designed to respond to the challenges and opportunities as outlined.
As reported by Michael Guilfoyle and Donal Magner, it is now clear that a new and innovative approach that actually incentivises farmers and other landowners to afforest part of their land while addressing barriers to afforestation and harvesting is required.
We have been down this road before but the O’Donoghue report is a stark reminder of what needs to be achieved.
If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525.
Link sent to your email address
We have sent an email to your address. Please click on the link in this email to reset your password. If you can't find it in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you can't find the email, please call us on 01-4199525.
ENTER YOUR LOYALTY CODE:
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
SHARING OPTIONS