Minister for Climate Eamon Ryan has said all sectors must accept the higher level of ceilings on carbon emissions in spite of indications of unrest among rural backbenchers in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael on the implications for agriculture.
Every sector “has to go to the max of its ambition” because that was the only way demanding Irish targets set in law for up to 2030 would be met and that Ireland would meet commitments made at EU level, he said.
Speaking to The Irish Times, he confirmed the Cabinet would sign off on sectoral ceilings as proposed by him before the summer recess as they were a critical part of the country’s first five-year carbon budget. The package does not have to be approved by the Oireachtas – the limit for agriculture was set previously within a 22-30 per cent cut range.
Mr Ryan acknowledged there were real challenges for every sector from having to adopt higher limits, including agriculture, as “the maths [indicating what limits need to be applied] cannot be wished away”.
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He believes, however, there are “huge opportunities” now presenting themselves for farmers to help make the transition, notably in renewable energy including anaerobic digesters and forestry, which he expects to be backed by “very significant funding” at EU level and which can provide additional income.
“I think that is the key. It will also ensure a whole new generation going into farming,” he added. This would be backed by “real metrics” confirming the extent to which agriculture was reducing carbon.
Chairman of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee Jackie Cahill (FF) said, however, the carbon-reduction target must not exceed the minimum 22 per cent figure. He told the Farmers Journal new funding had to be put in place to support farmers. “There are new technologies that farmers can employ to reduce farming’s carbon footprint, but they cost money.”
Mr Cahill said he made his demands known to Taoiseach Micheál Martin. The latest in a series of meetings on the issue between Mr Ryan and Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue took place on Wednesday.
Carlow-Kilkenny John Paul Phelan (FG) said an agriculture target closer to 22 per cent was the expectation among rural Fine Gael TDs.
Earlier this month Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said he envisaged a “lesser” target for the sector “because it is special”, and that “we are treating it differently because it involves food production and the rural economy”.
Cork Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns said she supported the need for ambitious targets across all sectors, adding that “the piecemeal release of information by the Government is deeply disrespectful to farmers and rural communities”.
The appropriate ceiling should have been agreed through a partnership process with input from farmers, food producers and others, she believed.
Green party TD Brian Leddin denied the negotiations were causing tension within the Coalition. But he criticised those who were invested in one sector over others, underlining that if one is given a lesser target that “has to be compensated elsewhere”.
He accepted, however, the need to put in place more supports for climate measures being undertaken by farmers and it was “not in the Green Party’s interest to make a villain out of farmers”.
Even with agricultural pollution cuts of 30 per cent the rest of the economy and society would need to cut its emissions by twice that, 60 per cent, in order to meet the 51 per cent national target now enshrined in law, Friends of the Earth has highlighted.
It cited analysis by Prof Hannah Daly of UCC showing if agriculture was given a 22 per cent target the rest of the economy would need to cut emissions by close to 70 per cent in just eight years; something she described as “highly implausible”.
Prof Daly told The Irish Times “30 per cent is necessary to make the carbon budget calculus work [in agriculture] but it would require capping milk production, which is still on a growth trajectory, and also very rapidly cutting beef cow numbers. They have known this for a long time yet are still pursuing growth.”
Meanwhile Mr Ryan confirmed Ireland this week secured agreement from the European Commission that it can opt out of a new emissions trading scheme (ETS) for transport and buildings, which was ratified by the European Council.
This was an acknowledgement, he added, that Ireland was ahead of most member states in having an effective carbon tax regime in place, which penalises polluting behaviours.
If Ireland had been required to participate, he said it would have amounted to a double tax, “which would have been extremely messy”. With this arrangement, Ireland retains the flexibilities allowed under its own carbon tax system including allocating revenues to retrofit buildings and protecting social welfare recipients, he added.
It would also be allowed to avail of a new EU social climate fund to finance temporary direct income support for vulnerable households and to support measures and investments that reduce emissions in road transport and buildings sectors. This aims to reduce costs for vulnerable households, “micro-enterprises” and transport users.
This is contingent on Ireland retaining a higher carbon tax compared to the price under the ETS.
Based on this outcome, the Minister believed it amounts to “the end of the argument on carbon tax” in Ireland, as the ETS would have been more demanding and inflexible for the Government.
Mr Ryan said most of the EU “fit for 55″ package for a green transition was now over the line – centring around an emissions cut of at least 55 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, and leading to climate neutrality in 2050.
No one would have envisaged the scale of recent progress on this, he insisted, including measures on decarbonising transport and a carbon border adjustment mechanism. “The war in Ukraine has changed everything,” he observed.
An increasing important element of the transition would be a mandatory improvements in energy efficiency under the revised EU energy efficiency directive. This doubling of current ambition would force countries to reduce their energy consumption, which in the case of Ireland “will be really challenging” because of its growing economy and rising population.
