Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 December 2021
44. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress made to date to ensure that hedgerows, all small-scale planting and all small blocks of scrub are included in the national inventory calculations for carbon credits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60784/21]
View answerOn-farm carbon removals and carbon pool protection will play an important role in meeting the agricultural sectors challenging climate change targets over the next number of years.
It is important that the protection of carbon pools and the increased removal and storage of atmospheric carbon brought about through the activities of our farmers is not only recognised in the National Inventory Reporting accounting system but also that farmers receive the recognition for their efforts in this area.
In recent months significant funding allocations through my Department will allow for the better understanding of farm derived emissions and therefore this increased data source will allow for a more targeted policy approach by government to reduce or eliminate emissions.
I would like to highlight the recent establishment of the National Agricultural Soil Carbon Observatory (NASCO) for the measurement of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a range of different soil and farm types. The outputs from this project will place Ireland at the forefront of EU carbon sequestration research.
In tandem with the Soil Carbon Observatory I have also recently launched the Pilot Soil Sampling and Analysis Programme which will provide a baseline assessment of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) across the country.
In addition, Teagasc has also recently commenced a research project called “Farm-Carbon – Farm Hedgerows and Non-forest Woodland Carbon”. This project will provide a deeper understanding of hedgerows and non-forest woodland as carbon stocks in agricultural landscapes and will allow researchers to identify approaches to maintain and enhance this contribution.
The knowledge gained from these activities I believe will place Ireland at the forefront of research in carbon farming while also allowing for the refinement of our reporting to the National Inventory further emphasising the sustainability of the agricultural sector.
