The party leaders of the government coalition in Ireland have reached an agreement on reducing nitrogen emissions from the agricultural sector. Irish farmers are asked to reduce emissions by 25 percent by 2030. A number of compensatory measures are taken into account.
Since the 2020 elections, Ireland has been governed by a coalition of Liberals, Christian Democrats and Greens. Ireland’s total nitrogen emissions must have fallen 51 percent over eight years and reach net zero emissions by 2050 to stay within the coalition agreement.
The distribution for the various industries has recently been established. On the last day before the summer recess in Dublin, an agreement was reached on the setting of objectives for agriculture. In doing so, liberal Agriculture Minister Charlie McConaliogue and Environment Minister Eaman Ryan (Greens) were opposed for a long time. There was even a government crisis.
It is still unclear what exactly the objective for agriculture means for animal husbandry. Irish dairy farmers previously expressed fears that the livestock would have to shrink by about 20 percent. The number of dairy cows in Ireland has increased for the eleventh consecutive year, while milk production per cow has also increased by 2.5 per cent.
