On 23rd of January Carbon Action acted as host to the United Nations Development Programme who were visiting the country to explore opportunities and discover innovative ways to manage and utilise agricultural waste products.
With 8 million sheep and 7 million cows in Ireland, agriculture contributes to a significant portion of our greenhouse gas emissions – almost 30% in 2010.
In the same period revenue generated from exports of all domesticated animal meats was in the region of 2.7 billion (Enterprise Ireland).
Ireland is one of the leading European countries in terms of developing technologies and products to manage agricultural waste streams and other by-products produced by the sector. For example biogas created from anaerobic digester plants divert methane from being released to the atmosphere. The energy created is then used to generate onsite electricity and heat and with new feed in tariff rates farm owners can also profit from selling over-supply electricity to the grid.
Irish sheep wool is also used as an alternative to glass fibre insulation. It requires less than 15% of the energy needed to create glass fibre insulation and various other natural advantages over using manufactured products – it can absorb and break down indoor air pollutants, it is a sustainable renewable resource, it is safe and easy to handle requiring no breathing, it contains moisture and is therefore self fire-retardant as soon as a flame source is removed to… name a few!
CMSE is part of a Europe wide collaboration called the European Sustainable Energy Awards for Prisons (E-seaP), which has been established to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in prison facilities. UNDP Croatia is part of the House in Order programme funded by the Croatian government to implement energy efficiency and systematic energy management in all buildings owned by the central government.
Five Croatian prison facilities are located on farms and it is anticipated that the UNDP Croatia will implement Irish agricultural energy efficiency practices at these sites.
Carbon Action (31st Jan. 2012)