Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 March 2022
746. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the year that Irish forestry will become a net emitter of carbon due to the current afforestation rates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12529/22]
View answerIreland’s forests and harvested wood products play a significant role in climate change mitigation by removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Carbon sequestration by forests is influenced by a range of factors including species, soil type, site conditions and management practices. The rate of sequestration changes over time as a forest develops and matures.
When forests are young the sequestration rate is low but as the trees mature their ability to sequester carbon dioxide as increases. The national forest estate is an important store for carbon, estimated at over 312 million tonnes.
Projections of the greenhouse gas balance show that Ireland’s forests will transition from a sink to a source by 2024. This trend is primarily related to the increasing rate of felling in private forests and the extent of historical afforestation on peats.
However, as these forests are replanted they will again sequester carbon and the strength of the forest sink will increase as these forests mature.
The forest sector, including afforestation, has an important part to play in meeting the ambitious roadmap towards climate neutrality and as outlined in the Climate Action Plan 2021 which aims to afforest 8,000ha annually to 2030.
This target is ambitious when compared to recent afforestation rates and will be challenging to meet in the next decade. Clearly more needs to be done to substantially increase our afforestation rates over the next decade.
There are many land-use options available to landowners and forestry is a strong contender, especially in view of the generous incentives currently available under the afforestation scheme. Finally, the Department and stakeholders are working together to deliver Project Woodland with a view to resolve the current difficulties in the forestry sector and revitalise the creation of forests in Ireland.
