Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have been making those arguments quite successfully. The EU plans to set very ambitious targets for 2030. I think it is right to do so. We have insisted that the complete picture from land use will be factored into those targets. We have had a very active afforestation programme, for example. This has essentially involved planting forests on agricultural land. That has a significant carbon sink value and should compensate for emissions coming from herds in other parts of agriculture. If targets are to be set for agriculture, those targets have to factor in agriculture and land use. They have to factor in the positives as well as the negatives with regard to emissions and carbon sinks, etc. Before Christmas, we successfully got that wording into the European Council decision on the setting of targets. We reaffirmed that recently at the Environment Council when one or two countries sought to remove the land use element from what is factored into the targets. The Commission has confirmed that it is very much there now. This is good news from an Irish perspective.

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