Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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71. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will clarify the total amount of carbon credits purchased by the State since 2019 to date; the planned purchase for the coming period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9970/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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For the second commitment period of the Kyoto protocol (2013 to 2020), EU Member States contributed collectively to the EU’s emissions reduction targets by meeting nationally binding annual emissions reduction targets set out in the EU Effort Sharing Decision (ESD). These targets cover sectors outside the EU Emissions Trading System and Ireland has been fully compliant in every year.

The legislative framework of the ESD provides for a number of compliance options beyond direct emissions reductions, including purchasing international carbon credits and trading surplus annual emission allowances (AEAs) between Member States. This approach enables flexibility among Member States to achieve targets as efficiently and as fairly as possible.

Since 2019, the State has purchased 2.94 million international carbon credits and is in the process of purchasing 4.15 million AEAs from Slovakia - a total of 7.09 million carbon credits/emissions allowances at a combined cost of €5.02 million.

The ESD is succeeded by the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR), which covers emissions for the years 2021 to 2030. While the revised ESR is yet to be formally adopted, the stated objective of government policy is to comply with EU targets through direct emissions reductions and, if necessary, to avail of the other compliance options available under the ESR. Climate Action Plan 2023 sets out the necessary additional policies and measures that Ireland must take to meet these revised emissions reductions targets and Government Departments will continue to prioritise climate action and full implementation of Climate Action Plan measures.