Livestock farming contributes a third of Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions, posing a unique challenge to achieve a national commitment to achieving net zero emissions post-2050. The EPA-funded SeQUEsTER project seeks to chart potential pathways for Irish agriculture and land use that can deliver it, it has been announced.

Global actions on climate change and food security

There are a number of challenges and some fundamentally differing perspectives on Ireland’s role in global actions on climate change and food security.

To that end, SeQUEsTER will launch The Sequester Journal, a new blog series that will feature high-profile national and international experts from academic, social and political spheres.

Contributing authors to date include: CCAFS flagship leader for low emissions development, Dr Lini Wollenberg; Basque Centre for Climate Change livestock GHG modelling specialist, Professor Agustin del Prado; Professor of European agricultural policy at Trinity College Dublin and member of the Climate Change Advisory Council, Alan Matthews; molecular ecologist and agro-ecosystem analyst at the James Hutton Institute, Dr Pietro Iannetta; and life cycle assessment scientist for AgResearch New Zealand, Dr Andre Mazzetto.

Four themes:

  • The potential role of Ireland’s farm forestry in an EU green deal;
  • Opportunities for Ireland’s bio-economy in an EU green deal;
  • The importance of a carbon neutral Irish agriculture sector: An international perspective;
  • What can Ireland learn from other countries as it transitions agriculture towards carbon neutrality.

Principal investigator on the project, Dr Dave Styles, who has contributed the blog’s inaugural piece, highlighted the importance of encouraging dialogue, said: “The significant changes required to meaningfully tackle the climate emergency will entail disruption, challenges and opportunities.

"There is an urgent need to engage the public in the choices we face if we wish to prosper through the transformations necessary to leave a decent world for future generations to enjoy.”

NUI Galway postdoctoral researcher and model integration lead, Dr Colm Duffy, also emphasised the need for engagement: “We are acutely aware that we need to effectively communicate our work to all stakeholders, and we are endeavouring to make our work and our research team as accessible as possible.”

The Sequester Journal’s first edition went live from Friday, July 24, and engagement from the public is welcomed to provide a broad spectrum of perspectives and balance to this crucial debate.

To access the blog or find out more about the sequester project visit https://www.plantagbiosciences.org/project/sequester/category/blog/ and follow https://twitter.com/SeQUEsTER_proj on twitter.

For more information or to contribute an article to the blog contact Dr Colm Duffy at colm.duffy@nuigalway.ie.