Latest news with #AgricultureandClimateChange:ScienceintoAction
Agriland
3 days ago
- Science
- Agriland
Climate scientists gather in Dublin to discuss agriculture
Climate scientists are attending the meeting of the Council of the Global Research Alliance for Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA) which opened today, Tuesday June 3, 2025, at Dublin Castle. The GRA brings together climate scientists from across the world to enhance collaboration and progress climate research in agriculture. Ireland, through the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), officially assumed the chair of the GRA from January 1, 2025, for a period of 18 months. This is the first time that Ireland has chaired the GRA since joining in 2009. Climate scientists Established in 2009, the GRA aims to provide a framework for voluntary action to increase international cooperation and investment in research activities for mitigating agricultural GHG and improving carbon sequestration, as well as improving the measurement of emissions in different agricultural systems. The GRA also helps scientists to gain expertise in mitigation through developing new partnerships and exchanges. A total of 68 countries and 29 partners are now members. The council meeting in Dublin sees delegates from a large number of these countries and partners in attendance. Over the course of the two-day meeting, they will consider among other things, a new Strategic Plan to 2030, as well as hearing updates from the activities of the four research groups. These groups are: livestock; croplands; paddy rice; and integrative cross cutting areas. They will also consider proposals for new flagship projects in areas such as the biological nitrification inhibition of pasture swards to reduce nitrous oxide emissions. They will additionally consider the outcomes of completed flagship projects such as the 'Feed Additives' project that has developed practical tools, protocols and guidelines for the testing and implementation of feed additives. The council meeting will be chaired by officials from DAFM. Many of the delegates will attend the 'Agriculture and Climate Change: Science into Action' conference also taking place in Dublin Castle on Thursday (June 5). They will also visit Teagasc Grange Research Centre and a farm on Friday (June 6), to see first-hand the research taking place on agricultural GHGs in Ireland and how the outputs of this research are being implemented on an Irish farm. Along with Ireland as the chair, the GRA special representative, who is the ambassador for the GRA, is Dr. Harry Clark, chief scientist of the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre. Prof. Tommy Boland, University College Dublin (UCD) School of Agriculture and Food Science, is a co-chair of the livestock research group (one of four research groups) of the GRA.
Agriland
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Agriland
Taoiseach to open agriculture and climate change conference
Taoiseach Micheál Martin will open a major conference on climate change in agriculture taking place in Dublin in June. The 'Agriculture and Climate Change: Science into Action' conference will be held at Dublin Castle on Thursday, June 5, 2025. The event, hosted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), will have a strong emphasis on policy, scientific and implementation, with a range of national and international speakers. The conference will focus on the following areas: Policy and legislative developments relating to agriculture and climate change at national and international levels; Scientific developments and understanding in relation to the mitigation of the main greenhouse gas emissions from pasture-based livestock systems (animal, manure and land); Developments relating to customer, consumer and market expectations and expectations around sustainable agriculture, food and land use. Speakers at the event will include Dr Frank O'Mara, director of Teagasc; Laura Burke director general of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Marie Donnelly, chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC). Ireland, through the department of agriculture, is currently chairing the Global Research Alliance (GRA) for Agricultural Greenhouses Gases. Delegates attending the annual council meeting of the GRA will also be in attendance at the conference. Conference Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon and Minister of State with special responsibility for research and development, Noel Grealish have today (Tuesday, April 29) announced the programme and the opening of registration for the conference. Registration for the event is open until Friday, May 30, 2025. 'The agriculture sector has been set ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of the national effort to reach climate neutrality,' Minister Heydon said. 'I have witnessed the great work being done by farmers the length and breadth of the country, whether its reducing fertiliser use, embracing grass/clover swards, improving animal genetics, or sequestering and storing carbon in soil. 'But we can build further on this by adopting measures emerging from research, much of it funded by my department,' he added. Minister of State Noel Grealish said that DAFM has invested over €48 million in climate and agriculture research. 'Coupled with our international research collaboration and partnerships, such as those with the Global Research Alliance, we are seeing continuous scientific advancements that can provide farmers with the tools they need to farm more sustainably into the future. 'It is timely that our stakeholders are updated on these ongoing developments,' he said. The ministers encouraged all stakeholders in the agriculture, food, forest and bio-based sectors to register for the conference.
