JASMINA BEHAN,
Madam, - Your Editorial of January 23rd, "Fischler's plans for CAP reform" states that "the expected drop in the number of cattle and sheep would have an immediate impact on the production of greenhouse gases and, as a result, this State could expect to meet its commitments under the Kyoto agreement". This is incorrect.
It is not the national Kyoto target that will be met under the decoupling scenario analysed in the report, rather the reduction target set for agriculture alone by the Department of the Environment in Ireland's National Climate Change Strategy (NCCS).
The achievement of Ireland's commitments agreed as part of the Kyoto Protocol depends, of course, on developments not only in agriculture, but in the economy as a whole.
Under the decoupling scenario analysed in the FAPRI-Ireland report published on January 21st, the net emissions from agriculture (including carbon sequestration from on-farm forests) are projected to be 14.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents. This implies the NCCS target for agriculture would be over-achieved by 1.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents. - Yours, etc.,
JASMINA BEHAN, FAPRI-Ireland Partnership, Rural Economy
Research Centre, Teagasc, Sandymount Avenue, Dublin 4.