1. Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine Dr Eimear Cotter Senior Manager Environmental Protection Agency 8 April 2014

2. Agenda nIntroduction nGreenhouse Gas Emissions in Ireland nEPA Climate Change Vision

3. Working with others for a Better Environment

4. EPA Strategic Priorities Evidence based Decision Making Prepare national greenhouse gas emission inventories and projections for EU and UN legislation

5. EPA Strategic Priorities Research Programme Commission Climate Change Research

6. Ireland’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions

8. Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry 16 Mtonnes of CO 2

9. Key Goal : To ensure that positive carbon sequestration practices are recognised, promoted and sustained EPA Climate Change Vision

10. Livestock Management Sustainable Land Management Sustainable Food Production Forest Land Management An integrated framework encompassing agriculture and land use sectors

11. Current issues…… A strategic approach to optimisation of national land use is required Wider potential and economic benefits of ecosystem services realised and included in mitigation costs and benefits Assess how the sink from all managed land systems can be maintained or enhanced Existing accounting rules only allow some of potential sink from other land-use sectors to be realised

12. Holistic approach to agriculture and land sector Agriculture - Greenhouse gas emissions increasing - 32% of national emissions - Demanding EU targets Land Sector - Large potential sink - 9Mt in 2050 - Grasslands – more to offer - Scope of international accounting is too narrow

13. EPA funded research related to Agriculture and Land use On-going research nClimate Change Research n€2.4m nWater and Soils n€10.5m including flagship Irish Soils Information System (€3.6m) nTotal €12.9m over a 5 year period Cost of Greenhouse gas emissions reduction options (Teagasc,2012) Detection of management types within grasslands (UCC, 2013)

14. Next steps…. nResearch needed to understand and optimise carbon sinks nEngage at international level to shape future accounting frameworks nRecognise that land use is one way to support achievement of climate change objectives nOther activities include sustainable food production…..