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

The key issue in terms of the 2030 targets is that agricultural land use as a whole be taken into account. Rather than simply measuring the emissions from agricultural production systems, we would also have the benefit of the tree planting programme for which the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Hayes, is responsible, which has been ongoing since 1990 and is quite impressive. We have planted a lot of trees on agricultural land, which essentially are a very valuable carbon sink. That needs to be the plus if we are to get the minuses in terms of the increased mitigation that may come from increasing output. That is what the Taoiseach managed to have agreed at the European Council before Christmas and we now need to protect that aspect of the agreement. There are countries that would like to take afforestation out of the target setting process, which is unhelpful. We have fought against this and ensured that agenda has not been successful to date, but we need to be vigilant and must build a partnership with other countries. Most countries recognise that Ireland has a problem because 40% of our emissions come from agriculture. We are looking for fair treatment and if we have made significant progress in terms of afforestation, as we have, and if it has a significant carbon sink value, of course, that should be part of the calculation of our targets.

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