A Review of Alternative Technical and Policy-based Greenhouse Gas Emissions Abatement Strategies in the context of Irish Agriculture

Concerns over man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their potential impact on global climate change has seen the introduction of a number of national and international emissions reduction targets. Arguably the most significant of these targets to date is the EU proposal to reduce its total GHG emissions by 20 percent by 2020. Ireland is one of three member states which will be required to reduce its non- Emissions Trading Sector (ETS) emissions by 20 percent by 2020. With approximately 40 percent of Ireland’s non-ETS emissions coming from agriculture this target has the potential to impact substantially on the agricultural sector. A number of studies have examined the impact of various technical abatement strategies such as changes in animal diet or genetics on GHG emissions from livestock. However for some of these strategies the cost of emissions abated may prove to be prohibitive, while for others adoption of the technology may be limited. Alternative policy-based mechanisms including taxes, subsidies and tradable emissions permits could be used to reduce GHG. This paper presents a review of the technical abatement strategies that have been considered in Ireland, as well as a discussion of alternative policy-based mechanisms that could be used to reduce emissions from agriculture.