A fundamental redirection of Irish agriculture, including diversification away from heavy reliance on dairy and beef production, is among the recommendations of the all-party Committee on Climate Action report due to be published on Thursday.

The agriculture sector – Ireland’s biggest industry – remains “the largest emitter of greenhouse gases”, the report finds, while “Ireland cannot meet its international emissions targets without tackling agricultural sector emissions”.

A key aspect of successful efforts to reduce emissions associated with agriculture “will be land-use diversification”, it concludes. The committee accepts farmers will need support to reduce greenhouse…