Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 June 2026
264. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the implications of Ireland’s climate and land-use targets for 2030 for farmers and landowners who have already established forestry plantations; whether existing forest owners will have an entitlement to carbon credits or carbon-related income streams arising from the sequestration provided by their forests; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44817/26]
View answerBoth EU and National climate policy has set net carbon removal targets for the land use sector in Ireland, which includes Forestry. Forestry has the capacity to be a hugely significant policy lever in meeting Ireland’s climate targets and within this carbon farming is a key management activity.
In the context of Forestry, carbon farming means managing the forest to enhance its ability to take up and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions from soils and management practices. It can create a new green business model for forest owners generating income through carbon markets. Existing forest owners can pursue such voluntary initiatives in the trading of carbon and other corporate social responsibility mechanisms. In general, carbon farming schemes or initiatives will require a forest to meet specific criteria to be certified.
At EU level, the European Commission has developed a Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) Regulation, which will create the first EU-wide voluntary framework for the certification of carbon removals. The Commission is in the process of establishing tailored EU certification methodologies for different carbon removal activities, including afforestation and agroforestry. A draft forest management methodology is expected to be developed in the next year. My Department are engaged with the Commission on this process, in order to ensure that the methodologies developed have applicability for forest owners in Ireland.
At national level, my Department is leading the development of a Carbon Farming Framework to support putting farmers and forest owners at the centre of meeting our National and EU climate objectives. Work is ongoing in this area with a view to delivering a National Framework for Carbon Farming in 2026.
