Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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1011. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if Ireland will be represented at the global symposium on soil organic carbon being held in Rome under the auspices of the FAO (details supplied). [14264/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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My Department recognises the importance of soil carbon and its contribution to the global challenge set by the Paris agreement to limit warming to 2 degrees above pre industrial levels and to pursue limiting warming to less than 1.5 degrees. Irish research will be well represented at the FAO Global Symposium on Soil Organic Carbon considering the global scope of the meeting.

Dr. Rogier Schulte, Wageningen University (formerly Teagasc) will give an oral presentation: “Carbon sequestration in Irish grasslands”, based on research funded by my Department, Teagasc and the Dairy research trust.

Dr. Ibrahim Khalil, UCD, will give also an oral presentation: "Coupling high spatial resolution data, Geographical Information System approaches and modelling for reliable estimates of Soil Organic Carbon stocks and their historical changes in agricultural lands". This research was funded by the EPA.

The plenary sessions of the symposium will be available on webcast, and my policy officers intend to follow these.

Scientific research has a central role to play in developing our understanding of the carbon sequestration potential of our natural land resources. To this end, my Department recognises the important role this Global Symposium on Soil Organic Carbon can be in improving our understanding of the role the land use sector plays in mitigating greenhouse gases and ensuring the environmental integrity of the access to LULUCF credits provided in the EU proposals of last July.