Minister Heydon publishes draft set of principles while launching second public consultation on a National Carbon Farming Framework
- Published on: 15 October 2025
- Last updated on: 15 October 2025
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, has today published a draft set of principles and launched a second public consultation to inform and guide the development of a National Carbon Farming Framework.
Minister Heydon outlined:
“Carbon farming is a potential opportunity for our farmers/land managers to derive a new income stream for their farm. Carbon farming can reward our farmers for the actions they take to remove and store carbon in our soils, forests, grasslands, croplands and hedgerows. In developing a National Carbon Farming Framework, I am conscious of the need to align with developments at EU level including the recent publication of the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) Certification Regulation and it is also critical that there is clarity and confidence for both farmers and investors in what will be a completely new marketplace.”
Carbon farming aims to support and enable the adoption and scaling of management practices within agriculture that support and deliver on the sustainability credentials that are already a pillar of food production in Ireland whilst at the same time, supporting Ireland to achieve its climate, biodiversity and water quality targets.
An initial public consultation on carbon farming was undertaken previously which yielded valuable insights, but also highlighted that a significant level of knowledge, scientific expertise and understanding remains to be developed.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has developed a draft policy document “Carbon Farming - Developments at European Union level and Principles to develop Carbon Farming in Ireland” and a public consultation is now being launched to seek views on the draft principles to develop carbon farming to further inform and guide the development of a National Carbon Farming Framework.
Parallel to the public consultation, a multi-stakeholder working group including farmers, foresters and landowners will be established to oversee the development of the framework.
The Minister said:
“This public consultation will cover areas of importance to farmers, landowners, and foresters alike who have been calling for the establishment of initiatives which support carbon farming activities. I would encourage all farmers, foresters, and landowners to engage in this public consultation. It is important that we get this right and care is taken in what is a developing marketplace.”
In conclusion, Minister Heydon acknowledged the important partnership with Climate KIC, Europe’s largest climate innovation initiative:
“As part of this collaboration, my Department and Climate KIC have been closely working with Irish stakeholders through interviews and workshops to gather their views on barriers to and opportunities in the development of Carbon Farming in Ireland.”
Notes for Editor
The development of Carbon Farming has evolved through the publication of the EU regulation (EU 2024/3012) establishing a Union certification framework for permanent carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in products (CRCF) in December 2024.
About Climate-KIC
Climate KIC is Europe’s leading climate innovation agency and community, helping to create climate-resilient communities and fight the climate breakdown by mobilising systems change in countries, regions, cities, and businesses. Together with partners, across the globe, Climate KIC orchestrates solutions and facilitates learning, helping to bridge an ever-widening gap between climate commitments and current reality.
The draft set of principles have been informed by additional insights and extensive stakeholder input gathered by a national working group on carbon farming, chaired by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Climate KIC, the EU’s leading climate innovation agency and community.