Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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127.To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of the working group established to assist in the review of the emissions reduction target for land use, land use change and forestry sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[35343/24]

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.

In June 2022, with work on the sectoral emissions ceilings almost complete, there were significant refinements to the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) baseline in the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2022 National Inventory Report. These refinements required a deferral on a SEC for LULUCF. Refinements to the estimation of emissions and removals is standard practice in the compilation of the inventories. Due to the more recent focus on the LULUCF sector, more significant revisions are being seen there than is usual in the rest of the Inventory which has reached a higher degree of maturity. This sector’s baseline has fluctuated over several years and significant inventory refinements are anticipated for the coming decade.

Climate Action Plan 2024 (CAP24) sets out an approach for this sector that aligns with the EU LULUCF Regulation and deals with such fluctuations for this sector. This approach will set us on a pathway to achieve our goals for climate action by setting of activity targets and annual key performance indicators, and a 2030 emissions reduction target. Consequently, Ireland’s target is to reduce net LULUCF emissions by 0.626 MtCO2 eq by 2030, relative to a baseline of the average of emissions in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Responsibility for this sector has been assigned by Government under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021, to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, coordinating with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

The approach will be subject to future reviews as the data improves, including the second phase of the Land-use Review which shall complete its work and report in the first quarter of 2025. I along with my colleagues in Government, the Minster for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform have provided resources and a framework to deliver on this commitment.