Mr. Fintan Kelly:

I thank the committee for inviting us to present to members today. I am the agriculture and land use policy and advocacy officer of the Environmental Pillar, which is an advocacy coalition that works to represent the views of the Irish environmental sector. Comprised of 32 environmental NGOs, the Environmental Pillar works to promote environmental sustainability and the protection of Ireland’s natural environment.

Globally, peatlands support threatened biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services to society such as climate change adaptation and mitigation, water regulation and human well-being. Peatlands are the most important terrestrial ecosystem when it comes to carbon sequestration. Covering a mere 3% to 4% of the world's land area, they contain up to one third of the world’s soil carbon, which is twice as much as all the world’s forests combined.

Ireland proportionally supports one of the greatest peatland areas in Europe. Unfortunately, Ireland has one of the worst records in the world when it comes to peatland and wetland loss, having lost more than 90% in the last 300 years. Ireland also has one of the highest proportions of degraded peatland area in Europe. The Irish Peatland Conservation Council estimates that 75% of Irish peatlands are not functioning hydrologically or ecologically and biodiversity has suffered immensely as a consequence.

Despite this, Ireland is still home to a high proportion of some of Europe’s most threatened peatland habitats, including 60% of Europe’s raised bog habitat.

While healthy peatlands are an ally in our efforts to fight climate change, the drainage and degradation of peatlands have resulted in them being a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. According to the EPA, Ireland’s land use, land use change and forestry, LULUCF, sector was a net source of 4.8 million tonnes CO2 eq in 2018 and is projected to increase to 7.1 million tonnes CO2 eq in 2030. Grassland is the largest net source of emissions within the sector. The main source of emissions is the drainage of an estimated 337,000 ha of organic soils, which emit 8.3 million tonnes CO2 eq. Wetlands, including peatlands, are a net source of emissions of 2.5 million tonnes CO2 eq. Recent research has found that annual mean CO2 emissions from afforested peatlands in Ireland are around 6 tonnes per hectare per year. This is three times greater than the current figures used in Ireland’s reporting to the United Nations.

According to the EPA’s land use review, only modelling scenarios which combined substantial peatland restoration and rewetting of up to 90% of drained organic soils were capable of delivering net-zero emissions from the combined agriculture, forestry and land use sector by 2050. This echos the previous findings of the Climate Change Advisory Council, CCAC, and highlights the scale of the challenge we face. The EPA identified peatland rewetting and restoration as one of the best policy options available to deliver positive benefits for climate, biodiversity and water. Unfortunately, it also found that existing national policies fall well short of what is necessary to reach zero emissions by mid-century.

At an EU level, the nature restoration law proposes a range of targets and timelines to turn the tide of biodiversity loss and climate change. One of the most significant elements of the current proposal is Article 9.4, which sets targets to restore and rewet drained peatlands and organic soils under agricultural use. Our understanding is that Ireland has in general been negative towards the nature restoration law during EU negotiations and is one of the member states opposed to the existing rewetting targets on the grounds they are too onerous. This is despite the fact that the proposed targets for peat soils are less ambitious than existing national targets. For example, the nature restoration law proposes 7.5% of organic soils in agricultural use be rewetted to some degree by 2030, while the Climate Action Plan 2023 has a 24% rewetting target. While we agree greater clarity is needed from the Commission on how restoration will be financed, the nature restoration law is a major opportunity to garner EU support for our existing national commitments. We have called on Irish leaders to increase the scope and ambition of the nature restoration law. The challenge for decision-makers is how can the nature restoration law help us to collectively improve peatland management as a nature-based solution to biodiversity loss and climate change while supporting the well-being of communities living in peatland landscapes.

There has understandably been concern around the implications of rewetting for farmers. Our interpretation of the nature restoration law proposal is that rewetting is consistent with existing policies targeting reduced management intensity rather than implying full rewetting, and this was confirmed to the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine in January. Raising the water table of drained peat soils in agricultural use can greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions without necessarily halting their productive use. Research has shown that for every 10 cm of reduction in water table depth, a reduction can be achieved in the net warming impact of emissions by the equivalent of at least 3 tonnes of CO2 per hectare per year.

Farmers and communities must be central in shaping any future measures. Wherever possible, management interventions should look to deliver multiple environmental and social benefits and reward practitioners for the ecosystem services provided. We have the perfect delivery mechanism in Ireland’s results-based agri-environment schemes and we welcome the FarmPEAT and farm carbon European Innovation Partnership, EIP, projects, which are working to create a blueprint for future interventions. More projects like these are needed, and quickly.

We recently wrote to relevant Ministers calling for the Government to deliver on the commitments in the programme for Government to reform the outdated legal mandates of Coillte and Bord na Móna. We are strongly of the view that public land must be utilised in the public interest and that all public bodies must be mandated to lead in Ireland’s response to climate change and biodiversity loss. Coillte and Bord na Móna manage 7% and 1%, respectively, of Ireland and are the State’s largest peatland landowners. At a time when we are asking more of private landowners, it is critically important the State is seen to lead from the front. Public land must be utilised in the public interest and Irish people must have a greater say in how that is achieved.