Sir, – I completely reject the suggestion (Cantillon, June 11th) that Teagasc's work is "potentially at odds" with that of the recently established Advisory Council on Climate Change.
Each year Teagasc invests about €10 million on environmental research and extension in areas such as water quality, soils, biodiversity and greenhouse gases and climate change. We have a team of 25 scientists and extension experts and another 30 doctoral students working in this area. This research is mostly funded by the taxpayer for the public good. The entire output of this research is published, in the first instance, in peer-reviewed and leading international scientific journals and subsequently promulgated in numerous discussion papers that are all available on our website. All of our work on climate change is available for public scrutiny and debate. We are also active and respected participants in a number of national and international alliances and research partnerships on climate change, such as the EU Joint Programming Initiative on Food Security and Climate Change, the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases, and the Leap Partnership of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN.
It is the extensive research undertaken by Teagasc scientists, together with our in-depth knowledge of the subject matter and our proven record of high-quality science and independence, that provides the likely rationale for the invitation to participate in the work of the Advisory Council on Climate Change. I unequivocally reject the inference that Teagasc’s involvement is merely at the behest of farming representatives. In light of the contribution of the agricultural sector to Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions it is logical that Teagasc, as Ireland’s leading agricultural research organisation, would participate in the advisory council and contribute our scientific expertise to its deliberations. – Yours, etc,
Prof GERRY BOYLE,
Teagasc,
Oak Park, Carlow.