Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairperson. I thank the Minister for being here today for this very important debate.

I get worried when I hear Senator Conway talk of Limerick and light rail and so on. I am thinking, "Is he moving to Limerick?" I certainly welcome his comments. I will speak a little about that too.

In 2018, Ireland was ranked seventh worst out of 28 EU member states in terms of its total greenhouse gas, while our UK counterparts have been rated with the best performance. While Ireland may only contribute to 0.1% of the global emissions, this does not mean we should hold back. Rather, we should lead by example.

The Covid-19 pandemic has seen the decline of greenhouse gases. This is the biggest annual fall since the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The reduction of 50% by 2030 to meet the EU targets is difficult and will require significant determination to meet this target, but we must start now. In the reflections of meeting targets, we must ensure all expectations are realistic, reasonable and pragmatic.

A group of us Senators met with the Irish Farmers Association this week. I was elected to the Seanad off the agricultural panel and I have had a lot of contact with agrifood businesses, with small farmers and with large farmers over many years. They have a number of concerns, which I will raise, one of which is the carbon budget. The carbon budget is the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions less removals that are permitted during the budget period. When preparing the carbon budget, the Climate Change Advisory Council should be required to take account of the specific economic and social role of agriculture, similar to the requirement placed on the Minister and the Government when preparing the climate action plan and national long term climate action strategy.

There are two further concerns. The IFA calls for clarification on the issue of biogenic methane and for a distinction on this in the Bill. They are also asking for separate emissions targets for biogenic methane with a recognition of its lower climate warning. There are also concerns around carbon leakage as referred to in the Bill. Will it be possible for the Minister to accept that the reference to carbon leakage under subsection 6(8) should be removed and amended to: “the risk of carbon leakage as a consequence of measures implemented by the State to pursue the national climate objective”?

What are the removals being considered by the Government with regard to the national long-term climate action strategy? The Bill states: "The national long term climate action strategy shall specify the manner in which it is proposed to achieve the national climate objective and shall include — (a) projected reductions in greenhouse gas emissions ... in each of the relevant sectors." Are any removals being considered that have more efficient reactions to carbon removal other than increasing forestation, which takes the time to kick in?

The University of Limerick was recently involved in a €5 million project with other universities. They found that afforestation and planting trees is certainly something we should look at.The new study shows the vital role that planting new commercial forests can play in climate action. A major finding in the new research is that the future development of carbon capture and storage technology that extracts CO2 from exhaust gases during energy generation and locks it away in old oil and gas wells transforms wood bioenergy into a negative-emissions technology capable of removing CO2 from the atmosphere in the long term. The study, involving researchers at the University of Limerick's Bernal Institute, contains in-depth research. The researchers have shown the key role afforestation can play by including new accounting of greenhouse gas mitigation achieved from future use of harvested wood. The study applied a novel, time-dependent assessment to capture the complex dynamics of carbon uptake, storage, and partial eventual release back to the atmosphere.

I would like to mention the Fridays for Future movement. There are two key leaders in Limerick, Saoirse Exton and Iona Logan. They have so many students out on a Friday. We have an awful lot to learn from the likes of these students.

Senator Conway talked about a light rail system and connectivity. A light rail system between Shannon Airport and Limerick is needed. I realise there is rail in Ennis but Limerick is the third largest city. I acknowledge it has a ring road and thank the Minister for allowing the last part of that road, the Moyross link, to go ahead a couple of months ago but I believe we deserve a light rail system and connectivity. Whenever the Ryder Cup comes to Adare, a light rail link to that location will be crucial.