Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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103. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the plans he and his Department have for blue carbon sequestration certification; the financial recognition and-or remuneration proposals that may be under consideration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31320/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Blue carbon refers to carbon which is stored, or sequestered, in the ocean, its sediments, and vegetated habitats around our coast. The Marine Institute’s special report on ‘Blue Carbon and Marine Carbon Sequestration in Irish Waters and Coastal Habitats’ (2021) outlined the emergence of blue carbon as a concept for the integration of coastal carbon dynamics into policy and management frameworks. Two further research projects to improve our understanding of this emerging topic were launched in March 2022: BlueC – Investigating Ireland’s Blue Carbon Potential through a Scientific, Socio-economic and Legislative Approach, and Quest – Quantification, characterisation, source, and fate of past and present carbon storage in coastal and offshore sediments for effective marine management.

In addition, the European Commission’s current proposal for a regulation to establish a Union certification framework for carbon removals, is seeking to create and govern an EU-wide carbon removal certification system by 2030. The proposal is for a carbon certification scheme that will allow for a wide variety of business models to reward carbon removals by farmers, land managers, foresters, fishers, and other stakeholders. The current draft includes marine ecosystems. Officials from both my Department and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine are engaged in its progress.