Macra na Feirme National President John Keane. Photo: Agriland.ie Macra na Feirme has insisted that young farmers are key in tackling agricultural sector emissions reductions targets.
Responding to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report this week, the rural youth organisation said that young farmers right across the country have already demonstrated a willingness to engage in measures that both reduce emissions and improve on-farm viability.
Storing CO2
Macra na Feirme National President John Keane said that “agriculture is uniquely placed to sequester and store CO2 and policies must ensure that this sequestering and storage is attributed to farmers and agriculture”.
He insisted that young farmers are “essential in driving on farm change and adoption of new technologies to reduce emissions, but it must also be realised that these very same champions of climate change mitigation need to be provided with a future in which they can grow and thrive in.
“It is clear from the IPCC report that the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation are two key drivers of increasing global CO2 emissions. The Government must now look to maximise Ireland’s potential in continuing to grow our sustainability credentials while also supporting growth in our sector which on a global level is a leader,” he said.