The local economic impact of climate change mitigation in agriculture

Abstract

Greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation measures are currently being implement-ed in the agricultural sector across the globe. Questions have been raised about the distributional and spatial impacts of agricultural emissions mitigation policies, espe-cially at the local level. This study examines the local impact of a low-income farming sector, beef farming, in a typical Irish beef farming county, County Clare. Input-out-put analysis reveals that Clare beef farmers purchase the vast majority of farm inputs within the county, with intra-county suppliers providing 90% of their inputs and over-heads. We examine the impact of reducing the size of the beef herd in Co. Clare as a direct consequence of meeting national GHG emissions targets by 2030. Taking direct, indirect, and induced effects together, there is an €18.4 million reduction in economic activity in 2030 following the decrease in the beef herd with €14.72 million of that reduction taking place within the Mid-West region.