Farmers must be financially sustainable to play their part in climate change targets

ICSA general secretary Eddie Punch today met with Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten at the COP 23 Climate Change conference in Bonn.

The ICSA man delivered a message that farming in Ireland and other EU countries should not be framed in negativity about climate change. “ICSA strongly believes that food production should be promoted in areas where it is done efficiently. Equally, farming must be financially sustainable. Farmers can contribute positively to climate change mitigation through sequestration and through renewable energy.”

“Therefore, we must have policies at EU and national level that deliver greater use of renewable energy produced by European farmers in a sustainable way. We need to stand over sustainable beef and dairy production in Ireland and reject the absurd notion that reducing livestock on Irish farms does anything to help the climate when all we are doing is relocating production to other parts of the globe.”

“If we want farmers to contribute to more sustainable food and energy systems, the first and most important requirement is to ensure that farmers are financially sustainable. Farms which are viable can re-invest to make their farms even more efficient. Policies which support EU farmers can achieve this; policies which further undermine the viability of farms are a road to nowhere.”