A Cork dairy farmer says farmers are being unfairly targeted in the fight against climate change.
Munster Regional Chair of the Irish Farmer's Association Harold Kingston says farmers are willing to do their part to reduce emissions but has warned that thousands of jobs could be lost if agricultural production is cut.
The government will publish details of its Climate Action Plan later today but it's believed the agriculture sector will be asked to cut its emissions by between 22 and 30 percent over the next ten years.
The IFA say food will be raised and grown in other countries if there is any reduction of the national herd and have organised a demonstration in Dublin for the 21st of this month to urge the government to engage with them before setting any emissions targets for the sector.
A recent KPGM report found that over 56,000 jobs would be lost if agricultural emissions were cut by 30%.
Speaking to RedFM News, Harold Kingston says farming isn't the primary cause of climate change.
"The reason we're facing into the various changes on the 1.5 degrees and everything that people are hearing about at COP26 at the moment is because of the use of fossil fuels.
"It is a case that the levels of carbon in the atmosphere are increasing at a rapid rate, far quicker than they have at any time in history, and we need to deal with that.
"Yes, farming has a part to play in that, but there's also the realisation that people need to eat."
