Kerry farmers shouldn’t be obliged to plant trees to offset carbon emissions from intensive dairy farming in east of the country.
That’s the view of climatologist Emeritus Professor John Sweeney, who was speaking following the release of a Department of Agriculture-commissioned report on the net emissions of the country’s forestry.
The Maynooth University professor says the report highlights a number of positive points about Irish forestry, including the growth in coverage over the past century.
The report found that the forestry sector was a net contributor to emissions, rather than a carbon sink, between 2012-2017; the department is refuting some of the findings.
Professor John Sweeney says the report is accurate, insofar as it refers to forests 30 years or older.
He says the report doesn’t cover the 40% of forests planted since, which are not net emitters.
Regarding future planting, Professor Sweeney says farmers on the west coast should not be made take an unfair load.
