Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 July 2018
607. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions that are calculated to result from the arterial drainage of high carbon soils; and the policy measures under consideration to address these emissions. [32176/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am informed by the EPA that high carbon soils are considered to be organic soils under agricultural production. In this regard, there are two categories of emissions from arterial drainage of organic soils under agricultural production from which emissions are reported in the national greenhouse gas emissions inventory prepared by the EPA. The first is the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) category, in which carbon dioxide and methane emissions account for on average 587 kt CO2 equivalent per year. The second is in the agricultural sector, in which nitrous oxide emissions account for on average 780 kt CO2 equivalent per year.
Policies and measures to address greenhouse gas emissions from these sectors are a matter for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Polices and measures currently in place are set out in the National Mitigation Plan, as updated in the Annual Transition Statement 2017, both of which are available on my Department’s website at www.dccae.gov.ie.
The recently published Teagasc report, An Analysis of Abatement Potential of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Irish Agriculture 2021-2030, highlights the potential for further measures to address emissions from these sectors, and consideration of proposals to adopt these further measures is being taken forward in the context of the ongoing implementation of the National Mitigation Plan.
