Farmers should not be ‘singled out’ on climate change, say Tipperary councillors
Farmers should not be blamed for climate change, say Tipperary’s councillors.
This was in response to a presentation on the climate action plan given by Climate Action Coordinator Clare Lee at this month’s Tipperary County Council plenary meeting.
Several councillors expressed concern that farmers are being blamed for their industry’s high emissions.
Some elected members said that the council’s plan must bring everyone together.
While others said that the current research does not tell the whole story.
The issue of farmers was raised by Cllr John Fitzgerald, who said farmers need to be treated “sensitively.”
He said it was unfair to single out dairy farmers who had been told to increase their herd and now are being told the opposite. A point also made by Nenagh councillor Seamus Morris.
Cllr Noel Coonan said that on the one hand, we ‘condemn’ farmers, but we do not help them.
He said the figures that show agriculture as the biggest contributor to emissions are ‘vehemently disputed’ by “experts.”
He also said that it was experts who told farmers to take up hedgerows.
However, Cllr Coonan did not say which experts he was referring to. Cllr Coonan said it was ‘frustrating’ to see deforestation in the Amazon. And that although farmers may want to plant trees, forestry licences are difficult to get.
Cllr John Carroll complimented Ms Lee on her presentation. He said that it is the role of the local authority to bring people together to find solutions.
He also claimed that some professors are only interested in ‘divide and conquer’ and said they want be experts “once they get to Maynooth.”
He did not say which professors he was referring to.
Cathaoirleach Ger Darcy said as a farmer, he understood the frustration in the farming community.
He said they have always had to adapt, but they are now facing challenges like a shortage of young farmers and reducing emissions.
He said they need to manage these new challenges as a community.