Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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1037. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the position Ireland is taking on the Commission's proposal that accounting for wetland management be optional for the 2030 climate target, the analysis that has been taken to inform that position and if it is consistent with the commitments to peatland rewetting and restoration in the national peatlands strategy. [34829/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I refer to the replies to Question 1298 of 2 May 2017 and to Questions 229 and 230 of 10 May 2017.

Under the Paris Agreement, the EU has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. Negotiations on how this should translate into efforts by individual Member States are ongoing.

As I have previously outlined, the option for Member States to account for wetland management in the context of these proposals reflects the absence of global experience in the tracking and reporting of climate mitigation measures associated with wetlands. Ireland presently accounts for mitigation action associated with wetlands falling within currently-reported land types and continues to carry out research which will support the understanding of carbon stock changes associated with peatlands and agricultural soils. This will feed into the development of a more robust inventory and underpin future accounting for mitigation action associated with wetlands. I envisage that work on this will be taken forward in the context of the National Mitigation Plan.