The Belfast Agreement will be 25 years old next April. From the late 1960s onwards, John Hume’s lonely voice had argued that the context for resolving the conflict in Northern Ireland had to change: from the narrow ground of unionism and nationalism confronting each other, to a new context and set of relationships involving three strands – within Northern Ireland; North/South, between Northern Ireland and the Republic; and east/west, between the British and Irish governments.
Achieving the agreement, based on these three strands, required strong commitment from the British and Irish governments, exemplified by the leadership of Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern. To this was added Northern Ireland’s main political leaders, John Hume, David Trimble and Gerry Adams, having the courage and skills to bring their respective constituencies with them: “taking risks for peace” described it at the time.
Lessons from the agreement may be relevant to the island of Ireland in tackling today’s climate crisis and the linked issue of food and nutrition security. They relate to the rapidly changing context, internationally and domestically; the need for strong Government leadership; and the opportunities for progress if the players beyond Government are willing to embrace more substantial change than hitherto.
At international level, the 2015 Paris Agreement aims to slow down the rate of global warming to 1.5 degrees above the pre-industrial age. Progress to achieve this target is off track, but the agreement and its follow-up COP climate summits remain of central importance.
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The 2021 Food Systems Summit, called by the United Nations to highlight the link between sustainable food systems and the achievement of the sustainable development goals, saw more than 100 countries commit to transform their food systems.
At national level, Ireland has gone from being ‘a laggard’ in its climate policy, as acknowledged by then taoiseach Leo Varadkar in 2018, to legislating for a reduction of 51 per cent in emissions by 2030, a staging post to achieving net zero emissions by 2050
The 2022 Ukraine crisis has led to high food and energy prices, which may contribute to a major humanitarian disaster in the Horn of Africa over the coming months. A longer-term consequence will be that many countries and regions will give increased priority to their own food and nutrition security and to reducing their import dependence on Ukraine and Russia for their food, fertiliser and energy supplies.
At national level, Ireland has gone from being “a laggard” in its climate policy, as acknowledged by then taoiseach Leo Varadkar in 2018, to legislating for a reduction of 51 per cent in emissions by 2030, a staging post to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. These targets are among the most ambitious internationally and a major national effort, with huge implications for our economy and lifestyle, will be required if they are to be achieved.
These international and domestic political and legal commitments represent a significant change in context. The public is increasingly aware of the urgent need for climate action, seeing the increased frequency of severe weather events, including the current drought across Europe, and the recent sharp rise in food and energy price inflation.
Central to this changing public awareness should be a simple proposition: achieving food and nutrition security, in tandem with environmental sustainability, should have the highest political priority, at international, European and national levels.
This is the context within which the Irish Government, and the key players in climate and agri-food policy, must decide how they are going to work together to achieve Ireland’s 2030 and 2050 targets.
2022 can be a turning point moment, as in 1950s Europe when the post-war fear of hunger underpinned the creation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the emerging European Economic Community. Or the early 1970s when the science-driven green revolution overcame the spectre of mass starvation in a number of developing countries.
Learning from these earlier experiences should contribute to a substantial policy rethink but the application of science and innovation in delivering sustainable food systems remains of central importance.
Today’s international agricultural research agenda differs from that of the green revolution, focusing on nature-friendly production, more diverse and resilient farming systems, reduction in food waste, soil health and fertility.
The commitment of more than 100 countries at the summit to embark on “national pathways for their food system transformation” must be supported by their own investment decisions and by international assistance.
More support for local food systems and shorter value chains from producer to consumer should go hand in hand with maintaining an open international trading system.
The increased focus on the science for change should be accompanied by attention to the sociology of change. Discourse between farming and environmental interests has been divisive in recent years
At European level, the latest CAP reform is allied to the European Green Deal and its linked strategies of farm to fork and biodiversity. The heightened focus on Europe’s own food and nutrition security should be central to the implementation of these strategies.
The policy framework for Ireland’s transition towards a more sustainable food system is set, in Food Vision 2030 (approved by Government in August 2021), and in the sectoral emissions ceilings agreement in July 2022.
The central objective of Food Vision 2030 is that Ireland should become an international leader in sustainable food systems by 2030. The agreement that there should be a 25 per cent reduction in agricultural emissions by 2030 is part of a wider vision on how the sector can play a positive role in meeting Ireland’s climate targets, including increased carbon capture, on-farm renewable energy and anaerobic digestion.
The challenges in implementing these two Government decisions are substantial. More clarity is needed on the scientific pathway to meet the emissions target. Teagasc has a key role in providing this and in promoting the behaviour change along all stages of the value chain to achieve it. A sustained focus on implementation with a whole of Government/whole of sector approach is required, addressing water quality, ammonia and biodiversity while protecting economic gains.
The increased focus on the science for change should be accompanied by attention to the sociology of change. Discourse between farming and environmental interests has been divisive in recent years. The spirit of this discourse should shift from the pointless antagonisms on display to one based on good science and civility. This would enable faster and better progress on what should be a shared agri-environmental agenda working towards Ireland’s national climate targets.
Tom Arnold chaired the stakeholder committee which produced Food Vision 2030 and is the Irish Government’s special envoy for food systems. This article is based on an address to the International Symposium on Climate-Resilient Agri-Environmental Systems being held in Dublin this week