The Department of Agriculture has launched a second public consultation on a National Carbon Farming Framework.
In making the announcement, Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon also published a draft set of principles to inform the development of the framework.
The target of carbon farming is to enable the adoption and scaling of management practices within agriculture that help deliver on sustainability credentials regarding food production.
It is also designed to support Ireland in achieving climate, biodiversity, and water-quality targets.
The Department said a previous initial public consultation on carbon farming "yielded valuable insights, but also highlighted that a significant level of knowledge, scientific expertise and understanding remains to be developed".
The latest consultation is 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, it said.
Minister Heydon said he believes 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," he added.
The development of a national carbon farming framework for Ireland follows the publication of an EU regulation aimed at permanent carbon removals, carbon farming, and carbon storage in products.
