Minister Heydon publishes report of the public consultation on the key principles to develop a National Carbon Farming Framework
- Published on: 20 May 2026
- Last updated on: 20 May 2026
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, has today published a report on the public consultation on a draft set of principles to develop a National Carbon Farming Framework.
Minister Heydon said:
“Last year, I launched a public consultation on a draft set of principles to develop Carbon Farming in Ireland. I am very pleased with the overall response and engagement from stakeholders in this process.”
There is a commitment under the Programme for Government and the Climate Action Plan to develop a National Carbon Farming Framework. The public consultation generated 59 submissions with three key stakeholder workshops (200 attendees) also conducted.
Minister Heydon said:
“My priority is to engage with stakeholders in the development of new policy, and this consultation has provided my Department with valuable feedback and recommendations to inform the development of a National Carbon Farming Framework."
The overall objective of this consultation was to support policy development and facilitate the adoption and scaling of Carbon Farming management practices within agriculture's primary production system. Such practices will contribute towards Ireland achieving its climate, biodiversity and water quality targets.
Minister Heydon added:
“My ambition is to develop a framework that will give guidance to farmers, foresters, and landowners whilst providing confidence to those wishing to invest in Carbon Farming. The consultation sought input from stakeholders to shape a framework that can potentially diversify farm incomes.”
"The feedback provided on the publication of a draft set of principles will continue to inform policy development at a national level. However, I am also conscious there are developments at EU level under the Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming Certification Regulation (CRCF). It is important that any framework we develop aligns with the development of the CRCF regulation."
Minster Heydon concluded:
“I want to continue my commitments to engage fully with all stakeholders on policy development, and I will shortly convene an extended working group of stakeholders, to include all farm bodies, to discuss the development of a National Carbon Farming Framework. I echo stakeholder feedback in saying that a successful framework must be simple, farmer-friendly, environmentally sustainable and cost-effective.”
Notes
A link to report can be found on the Department’s website.
Key input from stakeholders as part of the consultation process.
- Development and delivery of a National Carbon Farming Framework.
Feedback from stakeholders identified the commitment under the Climate Action Plan and Programme for Government to develop a National Carbon Farming Framework as a key enabler to build confidence and guidance to the establishment of a suite of activities to deliver carbon farming in Ireland.
- Develop and implement a demonstration initiative to guide learning and scaling.
There is an identified need for a national Carbon Farming Framework to function to co-create a new model of Irish agriculture - one that strengthens and protects the family farm model, while uniting environmental responsibility with economic output. Carbon farming must complement not replace productive agriculture. The development of a Carbon Farming Framework requires testing through a large-scale demonstration initiative that can test approaches on different farm types, and which will ultimately build confidence on both the farmer and buyer sides of the market. This should integrate existing initiatives and deliver robust evidence for industry, policy makers and farmers to inform what sustainable agriculture will look like in Ireland in 2030 and beyond.
- Establishment of a Governance Board and Technical Committee.
It was considered that a Governance Board should be formed with representative stakeholders. In addition, a Technical Committee should be established to ensure consistency in the rules or standards used, and that there is alignment with the Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming Certification Regulation (CRCF; EU/2024/3012).
- Developing an Irish Registry.
There is a strong consensus that an Irish Registry should be established by governmental organisations designed from the start to be interoperable with the future Union Registry (to be developed by the Directorate-General for Climate Action by 2028). This national Registry can be a key lever to strengthen market integrity and build confidence and trust in Carbon Farming in Ireland by ensuring transparency, integrity and sending a clear investment signal for farmers and project developers.