Karl Richards
Head of Climate Centre, Teagasc
Karl Richards is a Senior Principal Researcher Officer at Teagasc. He leads the newly established virtual Teagasc Climate Centre. He led a team of researchers in the area of nitrogen cycling including the impact of management practices on reducing Nitrogen losses (nitrous oxide, nitrate leaching and ammonia). He has published extensively on measures to reduce nitrous oxide and nitrate emissions, including leading the protected urea research that commenced in 2012. Internationally, he has worked on a range of Internationally funded competitive research projects, was a member of the EU Nitrogen Expert panel, a national representative on the Global Research Alliance and has published over 180 scientific papers.
Overview of the Teagasc Climate Centre
The Teagasc Climate Centre, established in December 2022, is a virtual centre to co-ordinate agricultural climate and biodiversity research and innovation across Teagasc. It will accelerate efforts to develop and implement technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance biodiversity. The Climate Centre will support and facilitate the Irish agriculture sector to meet its commitments in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and restoring biodiversity. The Climate Centre has expanded the research infrastructure and human capital in Teagasc to meet the increased demand for practical, effective and affordable solutions for farmers. The centre is working with national and international organisations and institutions to create effective and trusted partnerships.
In its first year, the Centre has produced a new Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) report for the agriculture, land-use and bioenergy sectors. This report identified a pathway for Agriculture and Land-use to achieve the sectoral targets set in the National Climate Action Plan. A roadmap for the implementation of the MACC is being considered by Government for the Agriculture and Land-use, Land-use change and Forestry sectors in the Climate Action Plan 2025.
Read the full paper Overview of the Teagasc Climate Centre (PDF)