Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Ireland is committed to achieving a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 2018 levels, and climate neutrality by no later than 2050. These objectives are set out in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021, and are legally binding. Successive annual Climate Action Plans, required under the Climate Act, set out the policies, measures and actions to put Ireland on the various sectoral decarbonisation pathways required to achieve these goals. Climate Action Plan 2024 was approved by Government in December 2023, subject to Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment, and is expected to be finalised in May.

Sectoral emissions ceilings for electricity, industry, buildings, transport and agriculture were agreed by the Government in July 2022. However, adopting a sectoral emissions ceiling for the Land Use, Land-use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector was deferred pending a review of options following changes to the sector’s baseline in the EPA’s 2022 National Inventory Report (NIR). In fact, 2018 emissions for LULUCF have fluctuated in the past three NIRs, ultimately increasing by 31% since NIR 2021. This is primarily driven by changes in the emission factor for drained afforested organic soils. Numerous further inventory refinements are planned for the coming years. Reflecting this high level of uncertainty with LULUCF emissions; the series of planned inventory refinements; and the continued volatility for LULUCF baseline emissions to 2030 and beyond, the 2024 Climate Action Plan puts in place ambitious activity targets for the sector.

This approach is more aligned to how the EU LULUCF Regulation deals with the fluctuations and limits within the LULUCF sector, and will set us on a pathway to achieve our goals for this sector allowing for: the setting of activity targets and annual key performance indicators, sectoral accountability, and a 2030 emissions reduction target. The pathway will be subject to future reviews considering the Phase 2 of the Land-use Review, ongoing inventory refinements, and any future developments in terms of international and national commitments.