The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) recent decision to slash emissions estimates for grasslands by 65% is miles off the mark, according to independent candidate for the European Parliament in Ireland South Eddie Punch.

This "hugely significant" development is being swept under the carpet, according to Punch.

“It turns out that farmers were right to be angry about the nature restoration law proposals which painted farmers on restored peatlands as the villains of climate change. The debate in Ireland was coloured by a miles-wrong ideological belief based on a lack of research," he said.

Farmers, he added, were told that the grassland inventory sub-category was contributing a net 7.09Mt CO2 eq, whereas the more accurate figure based on studies by Teagasc and the International Peatland Society is 2.48Mt CO2 eq.

"The EPA has now accepted this, but it’s a bit late considering the damage that has been done in terms of public debate and the nature restoration law process in the EU," Punch argued.

Major development

Describing this decision as a major development, Punch added that it should be making the headlines.

"It is equally surprising that the new Taoiseach did not mention it when addressing farmers at the EPP [European People's Party] meeting in Carlow, nor was it highlighted by any of his party’s European election candidates.

“You can’t claim to represent the interests of the farm and food sector if you ignore major developments like this when the Government parties were all too ready to allow so much climate shaming of farmers over the past few years," he said.

Punch argued that the fact that our outgoing MEPs voted for the nature restoration law, even though one of the biggest justifications for it in Ireland was the massively incorrect assumption about peatland emissions, is even worse.

Pristine peatlands

"The only research backing the estimates was on pristinely drained peatlands on continental Europe where hot, dry weather for prolonged periods couldn’t possibly be compared with wet Irish conditions.

“However, the fact is that almost all political representatives are too afraid of upsetting the Greens or concerned about what environmental keyboard warriors on social media might think.

"It is lamentable that they were prepared to throw farmers on 335,000 hectares under the bus even though the estimates were based on nothing more than an ill-informed guess that international estimates might also apply here," he said.

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