AN ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP has been granted permission by the High Court to judicially review the Irish government’s decision to adopt an agri-food strategy released last year.

In a statement, Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) said it is challenging the plan as it believes it “undermines our international and national commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions”.

Ireland has legally binding targets in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. 

FIE said the grounds for the review include an alleged failure to properly subject the plan to the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitats Directives and a lack of monitoring. 

Food Vision 2030 – a 10-year-plan from the Irish government for the agri-food sector – was adopted by the government last August. 

It aims to increase agri-food exports from €14 billion to €21 billion by 2030 and enhance Ireland’s position as a “global leader in safe, sustainable agri-food exports”. 

FIE said in a statement today: “Irish agriculture is on the frontline of the climate crisis and is extremely vulnerable to the main impact of the increasing number and intensity of extreme weather events, highlighted by yesterdays’ IPCC Report.”

The group issued this case against the Government of Ireland, the Attorney General, Ireland and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. 

The Supreme Court previously found in favour of a case taken by FIE against a 2017 government National Mitigation Plan.

Chief Justice Clarke found that this plan fell “well short” of being specific enough to provide the transparency required to comply with the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015.