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- Ireland aims to become world’s greenes
The Dublin-based Institute of International and European Affairs brought together leading experts from across the agri-food sector to prepare a strategy to reduce the carbon footprint of Irish agriculture in the coming decade.
The programme, ‘From Farm to Fork – A Sustainability Enhancement Programme for Irish Agriculture’ is the result of this initiative. The agriculture sector, responsible for 40 per cent of ‘domestic sector’ emissions, must contribute to the national target of a minimum 20 per cent cut by 2020, while simultaneously responding to a predicted increase in worldwide demand for food. The report argues that these issues, if addressed proactively, can enhance both the competitiveness and the sustainability of the sector in the period to 2020. Some of the recommendations in the report include: earlier finishing times for beef cattle to reduce livestock methane emissions; development of industry-wide carbon footprinting tools; a range of measures to increase on-site energy efficiency; and cooperation with retailers to reduce waste and packaging.
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