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Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 July 2021

Tuesday, 6 July 2021

Ceisteanna (570)

Seán Sherlock

Ceist:

570. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the hectares of new afforestation necessary to deliver carbon neutrality to a normal dairy farm of 100 cows; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35825/21]

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Freagraí scríofa

By 2050, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's aim is to develop a climate neutral food system compatible with the Paris temperature goals. Such a system would reduce the climate impact of biogenic methane to zero, balance remaining agricultural emissions by removals through land use, and also make a significant contribution to renewable energy. AgClimatise is the roadmap for Ireland that has been developed to deliver the 2030 climate ambition, as set out in the 2019 Climate Action Plan.

Assessing greenhouse gas emissions and removals from agriculture is dependent on a wide range of variables that differ from location to location and depending on particular circumstances. The average greenhouse gas emissions from a dairy farm in 2019 as detailed in the Teagasc 2019 Sustainability report was 507.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents based on a herd of 82 dairy cows. If the emissions for 82 cows are scaled on a pro rata basis per annum, this provides an emission figure of 619 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents for a herd of 100 dairy cows.

Carbon sequestration by forests is influenced by a range of factors including species, soil type, site conditions and management practices. Teagasc have launched a new Forest Carbon Tool, which was developed with the support of the Department. This online tool calculates how much carbon can be removed by forests and highlights the important role of harvested wood products. Taking an example of the afforestation Grant and Premium Category 3 (i.e. 90% conifers and 10% broadleaves) on mineral soil, one hectare of forest has the potential to sequester a maximum of 357 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hectare at 26-years of age.

Based on these assumptions, 45 hectares of afforestation (Grant and Premium Category 3) are required to deliver carbon neutrality for a typical dairy farm of 100 cows. It is important to note that once the forest is planted, it will not neutralise 26 years of emissions from the dairy farm until year 26, as the rate of sequestration changes over time as a forest develops and matures.

It is also important to point out that afforestation can only remove a certain amount of carbon dioxide, which reaches equilibrium after a number of years, and additional forests would need to be planted to continue to remove and store the same levels of carbon dioxide into the future.

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