Published: Tue, 20 October 2015
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MEP for Ireland South and European Parliament representative for the upcoming COP21 Climate Change Conference in Paris, Seán Kelly, has called for a high level of global ambition on Climate action with an agreement set to be finalised in December.
“A global commitment will not only tackle global warming, but preserve jobs, industry and growth in the EU,” he said
Hosting an event on Climate Change and Sustainable Agriculture in the European Parliament in Brussels today (Tuesday), Mr Kelly pointed out the need for Europe to ensure that other big emitters follow its ambition in Paris in December.
“In Europe, we have some of the most efficient processes in the world, both industrial and agricultural. It would be unacceptable for us to go to Paris and accept anything less than a global agreement.
“Losing these sectors to other, less sustainable parts of the world due to less stringent requirements being in place there would be extremely naive. This scenario would in actually be worse for global warming as it would result in increased emissions globally as EU efficiencies would not be replicated elsewhere. We cannot allow carbon leakage in other less efficient systems to continue.”
Today’s event brought Irish and European agricultural stakeholders together to discuss Sustainable Livestock and how it fits into the Climate Change debate.
“Agriculture is one of the keys to spreading the economic recovery throughout Ireland, creating jobs and bringing about growth locally. We have an extensive grassland system that creates lower emissions making our sector far more sustainable than others around the world,” Mr Kelly told attendees.
“In the climate debate, we should promote the sustainable intensification of food production which will contribute both to greenhouse gas mitigation, to food security, and to preserving the significant job creation it brings in countries such as our own.”
Mr Kelly, the leader of Fine Gael in the European Parliament added that innovation can further improve sustainability across the agricultural sector:
“It is important to enable innovation that improves the efficiency with which animals convert natural resources into edible animal products. I will push at EU level for additional resources to be devoted to innovation activities to enable us to can maximise the efficiency of our farming activities – increasing output and lowering emissions in the process. This is an important part of Climate Action”
“The Paris Agreement will be an historic step towards preserving the future of our planet. I will work to ensure that this agreement puts in place a fair deal that keeps sustainable production in the EU”, he concluded.
