This article is from page 38 of the 2008-10-07 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 38 JPG
THE farming organisations has wel- comed what they described as a “bal- anced” stance taken by Minister for Agriculture, Brendan Smith, at last week Council of EU Agriculture Ministers in Brussels.
Minister Smith spoke at the meet- ing about the need to measure the steps taken to combat climate change with the current needs and challeng- es of the agriculture and agri-food sector in Ireland
“This is a clear recognition by Ag- riculture Ministers of the importance of ensuring that the EU’s policy ob- jectives for the agriculture and food sector are upheld in the Climate Change negotiations,” he said
“While climate change actions are vitally important it 1s equally impor-
tant that any proposed actions are considered from an agriculture and food production perspective leading to greater coherence in the pursuit of EU policy objectives in both areas.”
Minister Smith said that Ireland fully supported the goals agreed by the Heads of State and Government at the 2007 Spring European Council for reduction in the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions.
“Tam, however, concerned that the implementation of the reduction pro- posals should not result in unintend- ed impacts in terms of Ireland’s and the EU’s role in global food supplies and global greenhouse gas levels,” he Se AOR
“Given the relative size of the ag- riculture sector in Ireland’s economy and the high proportion of green- house gas emissions coming from
our largely animal-based production, the EU target posed particular dif- ficulties for us including the pros- pect of having to reduce our bovine ate) xe ad
The Minister referred to the fact that Ireland is one of the countries facing the highest target of 20 per cent under the effort-sharing pro- posal of the European Commission’s Climate Change strategy.
World demand for food is growing with the possibility of a doubling of meat and dairy consumption globally by 2050.
“It 1s important then to encourage our agriculture and food sectors to respond to these developments in the interests both of global food security and of the pursuit of important mar- ket opportunities,” he said.
“IT am anxious to ensure that Ire-
land continues to play a full role in the efficient production of food maximising its strengths in livestock husbandry that is heavily reliant on forage based on grass.
“We can do this only if a much greater level of flexibility 1s provided for in the Commission’s proposals and Ireland has put forward a number of ideas in this area including secur- ing recognition for carbon sequestra- tion from forest and other sinks.”