Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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71. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if the implementation of RED II criteria will be taken into consideration during the EU ETS emissions accounting process in 2023. [8967/23]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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72. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment given that under RED II, sustainability certificates are required for a business's biomass supply in order for the emissions to be considered carbon neutral, the action that is being taken to assist businesses that have to date not received certificates due to delays in the system; and the significant body of work required to implement all processes within the biomass supply chain to ensure robust compliance. [8968/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 71 and 72 together.

Directive (EU) 2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, requires certain economic operators to show that the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria laid down in Renewable Energy Directive (RED) II have been fulfilled. This requirement shall apply to installations producing electricity, heating and cooling, or fuels with a total rated thermal input equal to or exceeding 20 MW in the case of solid biomass fuels, and with a total rated thermal input equal to or exceeding 2 MW in the case of gaseous biomass fuels. The sustainability criteria are defined in RED II and were transposed into Irish legislation in July 2022 by S.I. 350 of 2022.

The Sustainability Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) have established and resourced a dedicated unit to implement a verification procedure to ensure that the relevant criteria laid down in RED II have been fulfilled. The SEAI will shortly be contacting these economic operators to advise them of their obligations under S.I. 350 of 2022 and the actions they need to take to ensure their biomass fuel meets the sustainability criteria.

With regard to the EU ETS, the emission factor for biomass is zero and no allowances for biomass emissions have to be surrendered where the sustainability and greenhouse gas savings criteria of the RED are met.

At this point in time, unless a voluntary national scheme is available through the relevant Irish legislation or by the EU Commission, the only method currently available to Irish EU ETS Operators to demonstrate compliance is by using a voluntary national (from other Member States) or international scheme recognised by the Commission. In December 2022 all Irish EU ETS operators were advised of these requirements.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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73. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his views on the purchase of €4.1 million carbon credits from Slovakia; his further views on the increase in greenhouse gas pollution in Ireland in the third quarter of 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9029/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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EU Member States contributed collectively to the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol through the EU Effort Sharing Decision (ESD). The ESD set binding annual emissions reduction targets for each Member State and covered the sectors that do not fall under the EU Emissions Trading System; including transport, agriculture, buildings and light industry. The legislative framework of the ESD provided for a number of compliance options beyond direct emissions reductions, including using banked excess allowances from earlier years, purchasing international carbon credits, and trading surplus allowances between Member States. This approach provided flexibility among Member States to achieve targets as efficiently and fairly as possible – both in terms of their capacity to make the necessary reductions and the marginal abatement cost of doing so.

Ireland’s purchase of 4.15 million emissions allowances from Slovakia, at a cost of €2.9 million, enables us to close a gap to our 2020 compliance obligations in a way that maximises cost efficiency and secures the best possible value for the Irish taxpayer.

While final 2022 emissions data is not yet available, provisional data from the Environmental Protection Agency indicates that Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions increased by 4.7% in 2021 compared to 2020 and are now 1.1% above 2019 pre-COVID restriction levels. While an increase in emissions was anticipated, as the country emerged from the most severe Covid-19 restrictions, it is essential that we sustain our climate action ambition and accelerate full implementation of Climate Action Plan measures.