Week 19 June 2023
Northern Ireland Energy Summit
On 21 June, rural enterprise chair and senior policy officer attended the Northern Ireland Energy Summit in Belfast. Chaired by BBC Northern Ireland journalist Mark Simpson, the summit was organised by the Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy (CASE) to consider how to take Northern Ireland forward in meeting renewable targets and net-zero ambitions while driving economic growth and establishing a sustainable green energy sector.
Speakers included head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service Dr Jayne Brady, US Department of State Scott Woodard, International Renewable Energy Agency Dr Xavier Garcia Casals, and director of energy and climate change at the Scottish Government Kersti Berge. Professor David Rooney Director from CASE launched their policy paper, ‘A Pathway to our Renewable Future’.
Understanding GHG and carbon sequestered
Earlier this week, UFU representatives attended the Arc Zero Project Close Out Conference and Farm Walk. UFU deputy president John McLenaghan, chaired the panel sessions and summed up the conference. Arc Zero is a farmer led European Innovation Project (EIP) that has been running for the last three years and focused on understanding sources of greenhouse gases on farm, but also the carbon sequestered with a considerable focus on soil carbon.
The farm walk took place at Brook Hall Estate and demonstrated new research on grazing willows with cattle, in conjunction with Foyle Food Group and Queens University, showing a 27% reduction in methane emissions. There was also an overview of new work on soil carbon and soil health. More information can be found by clicking here.
