Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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147. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his Department has made an assessment on the likely impact on Ireland’s emissions profile of his decision to include the impact of wetlands in national and sectoral greenhouse gas emissions reporting as outlined in his statement of 21 January 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22895/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Managed Wetlands are currently reported In Ireland’s national greenhouse gas emission inventory submissions to the EU and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. However, while EU Member States currently report emissions and removals from the land use sector, there are no specific targets for emissions and removals from land use. This will change with the application of a new EU land-use accountingsystem, under the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry Regulation (LULUCF).Under the new system, emissions and removals will be assessed over two consecutive accounting periods, the first from 2021 to 2025, and the second from 2026 to 2030. Accounting takes place twice covering the 5-year periods: for the first time in 2027 when 2021 to 2025 inventory data is reported, and for the second time in 2032 when 2026 to 2030 inventory data is reported.

The impact of emissions and removals from five out of six land use sectors will be included in the new system from 2021 (Managed Cropland, Managed Grassland, Afforestation, Deforestation, and Managed Forests), with Member States having the option to include the impact of the sixth, Managed Wetlands, in this first period. Ireland has opted to include the impact of Managed Wetlands on greenhouse gas emissions and removals from the beginning of 2021. This voluntary accounting puts Ireland on a stronger footing for accounting for greenhouse gas emissions and removals and in making the strategic changes required to support the country to meet our national, European and international climate change targets.

It is important to note that due to the uncertainty related to emissions from Managed Wetlands it is not currently possible to provide definitive estimations for such contributions. Factors which will support a net removal of emissions from Managed Wetland for the period 2021 to 2025 include:

- a reduction in peat extraction activity, for example through the recent cessation of peat harvesting by Bord Na Móna; and

- the restoration and rehabilitation activities planned under the Bord na Móna Enhanced Decommissioning, Rehabilitation and Restoration Scheme.

It should be noted that there are also activities that could potentially cancel out some of the expected net removals (e.g. an expansion of horticultural peat extraction above that in the reference period 2005 to 2009 or fires on wetlands).

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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148. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his Department has assessed the likely impact on Ireland’s greenhouse emissions profile of the inclusion of net land use emissions in the new EU land use accounting system as outlined in his statement on 21 January 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22896/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Under the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) Regulation adopted in May 2018, EU Member States have to ensure that greenhouse gas emissions from the land use sector are offset by at least an equivalent removal of CO₂ from the sector for the period 2021 to 2030, based on defined benchmarks. This commitment is referred to as the "no debit rule". For example, if a Member State converts forests to other land uses (deforestation), it must compensate for the resulting emissions by planting new forest (afforestation) or by improving the sustainable management of existing forest, croplands, grasslands or wetlands. Under the LULUCF Regulation, Ireland can avail of 26.8Mt CO2eq credits associated with land use over the period 2021 to 2030. Thus for 2030, under EU legislation, Ireland will be able to use removals associated with land-based activities in meeting its 2030 emission reduction targets.

The Climate Action Plan identified the following measures for Ireland to achieve this 26.8Mt CO2eq of abatement:

- an average of 8,000 ha per annum of newly planted forest, and sustainable forest management of existing forests (21 MtCO2eq. cumulative abatement);

- at least 40,000 ha per annum of reduced management intensity of grasslands on drained organic soils (4.4 MtCO2eq. cumulative abatement);

- better management of grasslands, tillage land and non-agricultural wetlands (1.4 MtCO2eq. cumulative abatement).