Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food
and the Marine
Dr Eimear Cotter
Senior Manager
Environmental Protection Agency
8 April 2014
Agenda
 Introduction
 Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Ireland
 EPA Climate Change Vision
Working with others for a Better Environment
EPA Strategic Priorities
Evidence based Decision Making
Prepare national greenhouse gas emission
inventories and projections for EU and UN
legislation
EPA Strategic Priorities
Research Programme
Commission Climate Change Research
Ireland’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
0
-0.5
-1
CO2, Mtonnes
-1.5
-2
-2.5
-3
-3.5
-4
-4.5
16 Mtonnes of CO2
EPA Climate Change Vision
Key Goal : To ensure that positive carbon sequestration practices
are recognised, promoted and sustained
Livestock
Management
Sustainable
Land
Management
Sustainable
Food
Production
Forest Land
Management
An integrated framework encompassing agriculture and land use sectors
Current issues……
A strategic approach to optimisation of national land use is
required
Wider potential and economic benefits of ecosystem services
realised and included in mitigation costs and benefits
Assess how the sink from all managed land systems can be
maintained or enhanced
Existing accounting rules only allow some of potential sink from
other land-use sectors to be realised
Holistic approach to agriculture and land sector
Agriculture
- Greenhouse gas emissions increasing
- 32% of national emissions
- Demanding EU targets
Land Sector
- Large potential sink
- 9Mt in 2050
- Grasslands – more to offer
- Scope of international accounting is too
narrow
EPA funded research related to Agriculture and Land
use
On-going research
 Climate Change Research
 €2.4m
 Water and Soils
 €10.5m including flagship
Irish Soils Information System
(€3.6m)
 Total €12.9m over a 5 year period
Cost of Greenhouse gas emissions reduction
options (Teagasc,2012)
Detection of management types within
grasslands (UCC, 2013)
Next steps….
 Research needed to understand and optimise carbon sinks
 Engage at international level to shape future accounting
frameworks
 Recognise that land use is one way to support achievement
of climate change objectives
 Other activities include sustainable food production…..