A Business Case for Climate Neutrality in Pasture-Based Dairy Production Systems in Ireland: Evidence from Farm Zero C

Theresa Rubhara (), James Gaffey (), Gavin Hunt, Fionnuala Murphy, Kevin O’Connor, Enda Buckley and Luis Alejandro Vergara
Additional contact information
Theresa Rubhara: Circular Bioeconomy Research Group, Munster Technological University, V92 HD4V Tralee, Ireland
James Gaffey: Circular Bioeconomy Research Group, Munster Technological University, V92 HD4V Tralee, Ireland
Gavin Hunt: BiOrbic Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
Fionnuala Murphy: BiOrbic Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
Kevin O’Connor: BiOrbic Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
Enda Buckley: Carbery Group, Ballineen Co., P47 YW77 Cork, Ireland
Luis Alejandro Vergara: BiOrbic Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 3, 1-18

Abstract: Agriculture in Ireland is responsible for producing and exporting healthy, nutritional food pivotal for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as global food security, economic development and sustainable communities. However, the agricultural sector, dominated by a large bovine population, faces the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to reach climate neutrality by 2050. The objective of the current study was to model the environmental and economic impact of simultaneously applying farm-level climate change mitigation strategies for a conventional grass-based dairy farm in Ireland. An average farm of 52 ha with a spring-calving herd of 93 was used as a reference scenario to create a business case. Partial budgeting was used to calculate the annual net benefit. A cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to model the reduction in GHG emissions, which was expressed as kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilogram of fat- and protein-corrected milk (kg CO 2 -eq/kg FPCM). The baseline for average emissions was 0.960 kg CO 2 -eq/kg FPCM. An average farm would reduce its annual emissions by 12% to 0.847 kg CO 2 -eq/kg FPCM in Scenario 1, where climate change mitigation strategies were applied on a minimal scale. For Scenario 2, the emissions are reduced by 36% to 0.614 kg CO 2 -eq/kg FPCM. In terms of annual savings on cash income, an increase of EUR 6634 and EUR 18,045 in net savings for the farm are realised in Scenarios 1 and 2, respectively. The business case provides evidence that farms can move towards climate neutrality while still remaining economically sustainable.

Keywords: climate-neutral agriculture; greenhouse gases; net benefit; global warming (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/3/1028/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/3/1028/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:3:p:1028-:d:1326188

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().