Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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116.To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the extent to which Irish carbon emissions now fall into the emission trading system or into the effort sharing regulation; the 2030 targets which have been set at EU level for Ireland in each case; and how they relate to the target set in the Climate Action Plan. [33367/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The EU established an EU-wide Emissions Trading System (ETS) for certain high emitting sectors and separately set legally binding national targets for emissions reductions in non-ETS sectors.

Within the ETS, participants must purchase allowances for every tonne of emissions emitted, with the amount of these allowances declining over time to ensure achievement of an EU-wide target of a 62% GHG emissions reduction by 2030, relative to 2005 levels. Ireland has 109 installations in the ETS sector, which account for approximately 24% of total emissions for the country.

For non-ETS sectors, which include emissions from agriculture, transport, buildings, and light industry, Member States’ nationally binding targets (for the period 2021 to 2030) are covered by the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR). Under the ESR, Ireland is required to reduce its emissions from these sectors by 42% by 2030, relative to 2005 levels. Binding annual emission limits for the 42% reduction have been set for 2021 to 2025, with limits for 2026 to 2030 to be set next year.

Together, the ETS and ESR will facilitate achievement of the EU-wide target of at least a 55% GHG emissions reduction by 2030 as set out in the European Climate Law.

Ireland’s 2030 target presented in the Climate Action Plan and the related policies, measures and actions, sit alongside and support our EU targets and their associated governance and reporting framework. Our Climate Action Plans provide clarity and detail regarding the important milestones and actions required to deliver on our national and EU climate commitments.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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117.To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment how the changing evaluation of the emissions associated with the land use sector have impacted the target being set at EU level for Ireland in this sector; and how it in turn impacts the target set for the remainder of the effort-sharing sectors. [33371/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Ireland's emissions and removals in relation to the land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector are estimated by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and reported annually in Ireland's National Inventory Report for greenhouse gas emissions. The emission and removal estimates are calculated in accordance with guidelines and methodologies provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and submitted on an annual basis by the EPA to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change.

On 11 May 2023, revisions to the existing EU LULUCF Regulation came into force as part of the EU 'Fit for 55' Package. The revision sets an overall EU-level objective of net removals of 310 MtCO2eq/yr for the LULUCF sector in 2030. Ireland has a target to reduce annual net LULUCF emissions by 0.626 MtCO2eq by 2030, relative to a baseline of the average of emissions in 2016, 2017 and 2018. This target sits separately to that created under the Effort-Sharing Regulation, which covers agriculture, transport, residential heating and other sectors not included in the Emissions Trading Scheme.

EU legislative proposals were based on data from the 2020 inventory submissions. However, this legislation specifically accommodates flux in the LULUCF sector. The “distance to target” (also referred to as the “delta target”) is a constant 0.626 MtCO2eq reduction in net LULUCF emissions by 2030. This distance to target does not change with revisions to the baseline.

The 2024 Climate Action Plan puts in place ambitious activity targets for the sector to reflect the high level of uncertainty with LULUCF emissions. This approach is now 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.