Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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682. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he and his Department have considered enhanced carbon sequestration measures as a means of meeting carbon reduction targets in a balanced way without damaging the food production sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60475/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I am acutely aware of the significant contribution that carbon sequestration can make, particularly through our land and soils, in meeting carbon reduction targets whilst protecting the food production sector.

Recent investments in research and initiatives from my Department will provide much needed data on the emission profile of our farms and will inform policy decisions in this area to better support farmers in their efforts to sequester, store and protect carbon through better management decisions.

In particular, the establishment of the National Agricultural Soil Carbon Observatory for the measurement of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a range of different soil and farm types will place Ireland at the forefront of EU carbon sequestration research. This infrastructure will be located in a range of locations throughout Ireland and will include a number of Teagasc Signpost farms, a new initiative which aims to support our farmers by acting as a demonstration and research resource for best practice on our farms.

Teagasc has also recently commenced a research project called “Farm-Carbon – Farm Hedgerows and Non-forest Woodland Carbon”.

This project will provide a deeper understanding of hedgerows and non-forest woodland as carbon stocks in agricultural landscapes and will allow researchers to identify approaches to maintain and enhance this contribution.

As you will appreciate, the knowledge gained from the aforementioned research and technological infrastructure establishment activities pursued through my Department will not only demonstrate the continued viability of our agrifood sector but it will also allow for the refinement of our reporting to the National Inventory further emphasising the sustainability of the agricultural sector.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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683. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which his Department has studied all the options in respect of carbon reduction without damaging the food production sector; if he has quantified the amount by which carbon levels can be reduced by the activation of a forestry programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60476/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I and officials in my Department have been consistent in my position that agriculture must achieve its climate objectives while maintaining current food production output.

It is my belief that we are the sustainable food capital of the world and that we can continue to produce in sustainable manner while reducing our carbon footprint.

The recently published All-of-Government Climate Action Plan 2021 has set an ambitious target for the agricultural sector of achieving a 22-30% reduction in emissions. Along with detailed actions for the sector contained within the plan, my Department has also published the Ag-Climatise Roadmap which contains a number of achievable on-farm actions to further ensure the continued sustainability and economic viability of our food production sector.

Ireland’s forests are an important store of carbon, with estimated stocks at over 312 million tonnes. In our recent greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Ireland reported a removal by forests of circa five million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq) from the atmosphere in 2019, which includes the carbon stored in harvested wood products.

Land use affects how GHG’s in the atmosphere are either emitted, or removed, by our land. Afforestation is the single largest land-based climate change mitigation measure available to Ireland. Management of our existing forests also provides opportunities to increase carbon stores.

My Department will continue to promote afforestation and forest management measures to realise our 2030 ambition. The recently published climate action plan identifies measures for Forest Land to reduce emissions in Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) with potential direct savings of 2.9 MtCO2eq in 2030.

Ambitious afforestation targets are required to increase sequestration in forestry include a yearly planting rate of at least 8,000 ha per year and other measures to increase the storage of carbon in long lived harvested wood products.