Taoiseach Micheál Martin will open a major conference on climate change in agriculture taking place in Dublin in June.

The ‘Agriculture and Climate Change: Science into Action’ conference will be held at Dublin Castle on Thursday, June 5, 2025.

The event, hosted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), will have a strong emphasis on policy, scientific and implementation, with a range of national and international speakers.

The conference will focus on the following areas:

Policy and legislative developments relating to agriculture and climate change at national and international levels;
Scientific developments and understanding in relation to the mitigation of the main greenhouse gas emissions from pasture-based livestock systems (animal, manure and land);
Developments relating to customer, consumer and market expectations and expectations around sustainable agriculture, food and land use.

Speakers at the event will include Dr Frank O'Mara, director of Teagasc; Laura Burke director general of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Marie Donnelly, chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC).

Ireland, through the department of agriculture, is currently chairing the Global Research Alliance (GRA) for Agricultural Greenhouses Gases.

Delegates attending the annual council meeting of the GRA will also be in attendance at the conference.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon and Minister of State with special responsibility for research and development, Noel Grealish have today (Tuesday, April 29) announced the programme and the opening of registration for the conference.

Registration for the event is open until Friday, May 30, 2025.

"The agriculture sector has been set ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of the national effort to reach climate neutrality," Minister Heydon said.

"I have witnessed the great work being done by farmers the length and breadth of the country, whether its reducing fertiliser use, embracing grass/clover swards, improving animal genetics, or sequestering and storing carbon in soil.

"But we can build further on this by adopting measures emerging from research, much of it funded by my department," he added.

Minister of State Noel Grealish said that DAFM has invested over €48 million in climate and agriculture research.

"Coupled with our international research collaboration and partnerships, such as those with the Global Research Alliance, we are seeing continuous scientific advancements that can provide farmers with the tools they need to farm more sustainably into the future.

"It is timely that our stakeholders are updated on these ongoing developments," he said.

The ministers encouraged all stakeholders in the agriculture, food, forest and bio-based sectors to register for the conference.