Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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99. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will report on his trip to COP15; the pledges and commitments that were made on behalf of the Government at that conference; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3472/23]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I attended the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal in December and was delighted to address the High-Level Segment of the meeting on behalf of Ireland.

The Irish delegation, led by my Department's National Parks and Wildlife Service, negotiated at COP as part of the European Union. The position of the EU and its Member States supported an ambitious global biodiversity framework that will halt and reverse biodiversity loss.

Following two weeks of challenging negotiations and discussions, Parties were able to agree on a new framework that will deliver on many of the priorities set out it the EU position papers leading up to the meeting in Montreal.

I now look forward to working with our colleagues and partners on putting these outcomes into action through implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and Ireland's new National Biodiversity Action Plan which will be published later this year.

The historic agreement reached at COP15 includes targets to restore 30% degraded ecosystems globally (on land and sea) by 2030, and to ensure, that, by 2030, at least 30% of terrestrial, inland water, and of coastal and marine areas are effectively conserved and managed.