Sir, – What part of the international warnings about the projected catastrophic global impact of climate change do the farming organisations not understand?
The powerful farming lobby continually calls for retaining the “stable herd” in cattle numbers and for other special considerations, which is perhaps coded language for passing the problem on to other sectors. We constantly hear that the climate change clock is already at one minute to midnight.
How long do we have to wait for the old Irish tradition of meitheal rather than methane to kick in? We are all in this together? On an equal footing?
– Yours, etc,
PATRICK JUDGE,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Listening to Tuesday’s Dáil exchanges about the national herd and methane emissions, I am struck by the vociferous defence of our cattle herds by certain TDs. Perhaps they are comfortably secure in mountainy fastnesses in Kerry, but those of us in flood threatened coastal regions are not, and we don’t need to eat beef or mutton either. – Yours, etc,
WILLIAM KELLY,
Harmonstown,
Dublin 5.
Sir, – We learn (News, November 3rd) that a pledge to cut methane emissions by 30 per cent, agreed by global leaders at the Cop26 summit in Glasgow and signed by Taoiseach Micheál Martin will not form part of the Government’s Climate Action Plan.
Instead “the plan is understood to include methane reductions of about 10 per cent”. And this Government fumed when Boris Johnson did his “I’ll sign it but I have no intention whatever of adhering to it” Northern Ireland protocol trick!
– Yours, etc,
JIM HICKEY,
Waterford.