Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for the opportunity to discuss this question on the role of direct air capture, DAC. Direct air capture of CO2 involves a system where air from the atmospheres flows over an absorbent material and selectively removes the CO2. The CO2 is then released in a concentrated stream for disposal or for reuse. The absorbent material is regenerated and the CO2-depleted air is returned to the atmosphere. DAC differs from carbon capture and storage, which seeks to capture CO2 from point sources such as flue gases from large industrial processes, and this is followed by transportation by pipeline and then injection into geologically secure storage.

DAC is still in its infancy and it is currently categorised as having a technology readiness level of six on a scale of one to nine, meaning it is still in the prototype phase and not yet ready for full commercial deployment. According to the International Energy Agency, there are 18 DAC plants operating worldwide and they are capturing almost .01 megatons of CO2 per year. A 1 megaton of CO2 per year capture plant is in advanced development in the United States. DAC plants are currently very expensive and they are energy intensive. A significant factor in their deployment will be a plentiful economic supply of renewable energy. Pioneering countries in DAC development are those with such resources and these will include countries like Iceland, which has abundant geothermal and hydro sources.

The next climate action plan, the climate action plan 2023, is currently under development. It will provide an update on the progress being made in meeting Ireland's national climate objectives and it will seek to identify any challenges or obstacles in regard to this progress. This plan will build on the actions from the 2021 climate action plan, such as commitments to increasing the proportion of renewable electricity, including increased targets for offshore wind energy, and to enable modal shifts, such as extra walking, cycling and public transport journeys per day by 2030 and supporting the take-up of electric vehicles to reach almost 1 million vehicles by 2030.It will increase our supply of skills and resource capacity to make retrofitting more affordable through the national retrofit plan. It will provide for faster uptake of carbon neutral heating and increased electrification of high-temperature heating in our enterprise sector, as well as the phasing out of high-level warming potential F-gases. It will reduce our emissions within the agriculture sector, while supporting world-class food production through an innovation- and science-based approach. This includes a reduction in chemical nitrogen and more targeted use of fertiliser, while maintaining our position as a global leader in grass growth through multispecies swards.

All these measures and more will be required by Ireland as it seeks to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030, relative to 2018 levels, and to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Action 124 in the Climate Action Plan 2021 provides for the development of carbon capture and storage, CCS, as opposed to DAC by 2030. Its development is also challenging but it could remove further emissions from the system. We will therefore develop a policy framework and roadmap for the provision of CCS. In its current configuration, DAC does not feature as an option in the plan but, in due course, as we progress in reducing our emissions, increasing our supply of renewables, and DAC becomes cost competitive and technologically more advanced, it will become an option for inclusion.