Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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72. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the assessment he has undertaken which cast doubt on the role of forestry in carbon abatement. [41607/20]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland, as part of the implementation EU Regulation 2018/814, is required like all EU Member states to submit a National Forestry Accounting Plan which assesses the carbon emissions and removals resulting from older forests. This also sets a forest reference level for the period 2021-2025.

These older forests for the purposes of greenhouse gas accounting under the regulation are referred to as “managed forest lands” and which are older than 30 years of age. This reference level is needed in order to account and report greenhouse gas changes from 2021-2025 against this land category. These forests represent about 60% of the forest estate. This detailed assessment has now taken place and is documented in the National Forestry Accounting Plan which has also been reviewed by the European Commission.

While the Managed Forest Lands area, because of particular circumstances and timing, will be a small emitter over the upcoming period, the amount in question will be far outweighed by what the rest of the estate is storing and sequestering. It is estimated that these older forests will be a small net source of approximately 0.1 million tonnes of CO2 per year, when harvested wood products are included, over the period 2021-2025.

Although these older forests will be a small source of carbon dioxide over the period 2021-2025, projections indicate that the entire forest estate will remain a net sink over the entire period from 2021 to 2050. However, the net greenhouse balance of the estate is strongly dependent on the level of harvest, deforestation and afforestation.