Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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1708. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if the State engages in the procurement of carbon credits from private forestries; if so, the reason for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26359/16]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Under the Kyoto Protocol, countries must meet their emission reduction targets primarily through national measures. However, the Protocol also offers an additional means to meet targets by way of a number of market-based mechanisms, including the purchase of carbon credits. The rules relating to the use of carbon credits to assist with meeting emissions reduction targets differ under the Kyoto Protocol and the EU 2020 Effort Sharing Decision (ESD), with the latter applying more restrictive limitations.

Under the Carbon Fund Act 2007, a Carbon Fund was established to fund the purchase of carbon credits. I am responsible for the management and control of the Carbon Fund but, under the Act, the management of the Carbon Fund has been delegated to the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA).  As a result the NTMA are the purchasing agent for the State. Funding for the purchase of carbon units is provided from the Central Fund to the Carbon Fund. 

Some 1.2m units purchased by Ireland are known as  ‘tCERs’ or temporary Certified Emissions Reductions, and they relate to emissions removals generated from land based projects such as afforestation and reforestation projects. Under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism, such units allow Parties with Quantified Emission Limitation or Reduction Objectives, such as Ireland, to offset their emissions by supporting projects in those countries which did not take on such targets.  Ireland participates in a World Bank fund known as the BioCarbon Fund where the World Bank manages such projects on behalf of the participants from initiation through to the delivery of tCERs. The tCERs are considered to be potentially non-permanent because the emissions removals achieved by these projects are at risk of being re-emitted into the atmosphere at a future date. This could be as a result of human induced changes to land management practices, such as reversal of afforestation practices or active deforestation, or could result from fire or disease. It is not possible at present to provide a breakdown of whether the units purchased relate to forestry projects which are operated by public or private sector organisations in the countries involved (these include Brazil, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chile, Colombia, India, and Moldova).

The extent of the challenge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in line with our EU and international commitments, is well understood by the Government, as reflected in the National Policy Position on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development, published in April 2014, and now underpinned by the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, which was enacted in December 2015.  The National Policy Position provides a high-level policy direction for the adoption and implementation by Government of plans to enable the State to move to a low-carbon economy by 2050.  Statutory authority for the plans is set out in the Act.

In accordance with Section 4 of the Act, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment must submit a National Mitigation Plan to Government for approval by June 2017 at the latest. Work is well underway on the development of the National Mitigation Plan, the primary objective of which will be to track implementation of measures already underway and identify additional measures in the longer term to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and progress the overall national low carbon transition agenda to 2050.