Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. It is significant. We are about to change how we approach climate in land use in a way that I believe will see farmers benefitting from our emissions reduction targets. The critical thing in the policy approach we are taking is that we want income to go up as emissions go down. Bringing down emissions involves not only reducing the source of the emissions, be it biogenic methane, nitrous oxide or carbon dioxide coming from our activities, but also looking at sinks such as being able to store carbon in the soil and in woodlands and being able to stop carbon being emitted by re-wetting bogs, which allows the dry exposed bog to retain carbon rather than emitting it into the atmosphere. It is recognising that what are called sinks for storing carbon using nature-based solutions is where payments will be able to come.

Regarding how it will be quantified, we still have work to do. A key commitment in the programme for Government is a full land use review. A lot of science and mapping is happening in this regard, but we need further scientific information to be accurate and scientific in terms of what is happening. Many changes are taking place in forestry, wetlands, grass and other systems and, therefore, we have to do a proper land use review to have a full assessment.

As regards which agencies, to answer each of the Deputy's five questions in turn, Teagasc and the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, have critical roles, as well as other State agencies such as Coillte. However, I single out Teagasc and the EPA as having a critical role as scientific organisations spreading best practice and helping us to determine the policy levers that we will use to deliver it.

As to how long it will take, it will probably take towards the middle to latter part of this decade. That is in tune with changes that are also going to occur at European level. There will be a further amendment to the Bill in the Seanad tomorrow to back up the two amendments that were agreed on Committee Stage and clarifying that it is the European accounting system. That accounting system will evolve. In 2026, the European accounting system will include wetlands and emissions from wetlands within the European system. We even expect further information next week when the Fit for 55, the European climate strategy for the next decade, comes out and that there will be further evolution. However, it will take time for us to set up the scientific and trading-based solutions as well as other policy levers to avail of those payments. Some will come sooner. Even on wetlands, the agreement in the CAP reform in recent weeks for farmers to be paid through CAP payments for storing carbon in wetlands is already here. There is an evolving European and domestic attention on this as a key part of the solution.

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