Dr. Pierre-Marie Aubert:

Regarding the tree species acting as carbon sinks, there is a key issue. I will address this on a general level and not specifically for Ireland or France. It must be kept in mind that if a region goes for afforestation for the sake of increasing the carbon sink, it will be at the expense of agricultural land and of permanent grasslands. Biodiversity issues are key. At the moment, more than one quarter of all species and habitats that the European Union set out to conserve according to the 1992 habitats directive, are in direct or indirect relationships to permanent grasslands. If a region chooses to afforest those grasslands for the sake of increasing the carbon sink, which may a very good idea, we must think of the kinds of biodiversity an area would lose because of that measure. Thought must be given to the kind of afforestation that is to be done to limit the biodiversity loss that would be inevitably linked to this afforestation.

In that sense one might consider fast-growing species when planning afforestation for carbon sinks. Those fast-growing species such as the Douglas fir species grow 30 m3 per ha per year of growth during the first years. They are very good for carbon sink but are a nightmare for biodiversity. I have another background in forestry before, and it is clear that at the moment we really lack experience and knowledge about what to do and how to do a biodiversity friendly large-scale afforestation scheme. We need to invest in that area if we want to have afforestation and carbon sinks without harming too much biodiversity. That is a key point.

With regard to the question on seaweed and methane, I do not have a clue.