The chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council believes that methane-reducing feed additives should be rolled out in the morning to aid the sector in its battle to cut emissions.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Marie Donnelly said that there is product available.

“There’s no reason why it can’t be rolled out in the morning.”

When queried as to who would fund the take-up of these additives, she said there would have to be a three-pronged approach comprised of farmers, industry and Government. “We need an incentive. We’re calling on the Government to bring in incentive for that. Why would farmers do it? It’s a cost for them.

“Maybe they don’t carry the full cost, but they need to get some incentive.

“But also, it’s not just for Government. This is also for the supply chain to reward farmers for it,” she said.

Donnelly said that feed additives, such as Bovaer, will not deliver the same emissions reductions here as they would in other countries, but they will play a role.

“What it will deliver in Ireland, given we have a pasture-based system, it’s not going to deliver the same as it would in the Netherlands but it would still give us somewhere between 8-10% emissions reductions.

“The issue there is that you have to bring consumers with you on an issue such as that.

“You can’t just hit them over the head with that,” she said.

Referencing the social media storm of misinformation in December after Arla announced that cows on farms supplying its milk would be supplemented with Bovaer, she said that consumer trust doesn’t happen overnight.

“It relies on a lot of education.

“I would say it starts with farmers themselves, understanding what is involved. The ruminant has four stomachs.

“Bovaer is an enzyme inhibitor, active in the first stomach, short-lived because the acid in the stomach kills it, which is why you have to continuously feed it, which is why it can’t get into the milk.

“It’s as basic as a picture of the four stomachs and a couple of charts,” she said.

Donnelly said if farmers themselves understood it and could explain it and were absolutely comfortable with it, “that’s a big step.” She added that no one raises a question when farmers dose or vaccinate animals because it’s taken as the norm. Feed additives are a just a new technology, she said.

Methane additives

Another technical solution for methane are slurry additives, which the CCAC chair said the council is encouraging Government to roll out intensively.

This too would need to be “appropriately incentivised”, she said.

“It’s not high-tech, it does require a bit of investment.

“It can reduce emissions by maybe 15%, not huge, but we’ll take anything we get.

“That’s one area we’re really pushing,” she said.

Marie Donnelly on...

CAP budget

“We are in a turbulent time with tariffs and security and that may well impact on the overall EU CAP budget.”

Forestry

“Forestry policy needs to be generational and holistic. The current planting targets of 8,000ha per year are scientific targets and are not real because we are not really at the races. We need to start small and get one- to two-hectare parcels planted that are well located for amenity users. There must also be something we can do on inheritance tax.”

Anaerobic digestion

“We have been very critical of anaerobic digestion (AD) policy in Ireland. The co-ops are not interested and without a joined up approach where there is a guaranteed offtake model it won’t grow. The commercial reality is this won’t work without a guaranteed offtake mechanism. Most of the Irish industry who might use this energy source are using gas, and companies need clarity of direction as they are continuously investing and upgrading.”

Teagasc MACC

“The challenge with this is dissemination – we have to look to speed it up. Yes, it takes time, but we need faster progress.”

Rewetting

“My general concern is that things happen in Brussels and we don’t internalise it [by assessing and/or implementing in Ireland]. For example, there is an ‘energy efficiency directive’ that was supposed to be transposed into Irish legislation last year but still hasn’t. It sets an upper limit on what energy we can use in Ireland and at the moment, we are using 20% more than allowed. This could be a €4bn price tag in 2030. Rewetting and nitrates are other examples where this happens.”

Wind energy

“Offshore wind would be nice to have, but onshore wind is where it is at right now. With Galway gone from the picture, we are left with the three offshore sites in the east now going for planning.

“The target is for nine gigawatts (GW) from onshore wind so we need another 4.5GW. [The EU’s Repower plan] will bring that up further in years to come.”

Solar

“It is cheap and every roof should be covered.”

Marie Donnelly spent 30 years with the European Commission, ultimately as director for Renewables, Energy Efficiency and Innovation. She is chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council which will mark 10 years in existence later this year. Two of the council’s core roles are to: firstly advise the Government on recommendations for Ireland’s carbon budget and, secondly to provide evidence-based advice and recommendations on policy to support Ireland’s just transition to a biodiversity rich, environmentally sustainable, climate neutral and resilient society.