Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 February 2022
196. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the extent to which the various programmes for carbon sequestration have advanced; the methods most commonly used; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10774/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra198. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the extent to which methods of carbon sequestration have grown in the past two years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10776/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 196 and 198 together.
The land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector consists of the categories forest land, cropland, grassland, wetlands, settlements, other land and harvested wood products. It is currently the only sector which has the potential to sequester CO2 from the atmosphere. In 2015, the EU LULUCF sector reported a net carbon sink of about 309 Mt CO2-eq. This was dominated by CO2 sequestered by existing and new forests. In contrast, Ireland is currently a net emitter of greenhouse gasses (GHG) from the LULUCF sector to the order of 4.8 MtCO2-eq. in 2018.
This is largely due to the GHG emissions from grasslands and wetlands, resulting from drainage of organic soils, being greater than the sink from forest land and harvested wood products. All our LULUCF categories have the potential to be managed as net sinks for GHG.
The Climate Action Plan 2021 set out a range of LULUCF policies and measures which will establish a pathway for this sector to become a sustainable net sink in the long term, supporting our transition to a carbon-neutral economy and society no later than 2050. Actions to reduce Ireland’s net LULUCF emissions include:
- Increasing our annual afforestation rates and promoting forest management initiatives to increase carbon sinks and stores.
- Reducing management intensity (water table management) of grasslands on drained organic soils.
- Improving the management grasslands on mineral soils for carbon sequestration.
- Increasing the inclusion of cover crops in tillage and increasing the incorporation of straw to at least 10% of the tillage (cereal) area.
- Rehabilitating 65,000 hectares of peatlands across numerous landowners and projects.
In addition, the national land-use review, committed to in the Programme for Government, is under way and will consider options for how we might improve the management our land to address all our environmental challenges while supporting a sustainable agri-food sector.
