Climate Action: Forestry, Peatlands and Land Use
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry are key elements in the Climate Action Plan 2021 and actions and targets are set out in the Plan aimed at reducing emissions from this sector by between 37-58% by 2030:
These include:
Actions recently completed under previous Climate Action Plans include:
For more information on the progress Ireland has made to date, please see the Climate Action Plan Progress Reports.
Forests, wetlands and bogs provide a wide range of benefits when it comes to climate action. They remove carbon dioxide from the air and store it, preventing it from being released into the atmosphere. This helps to reduce climate change, as well as provide cleaner air and water.
These areas are also home to a large diversity of plant and animal species. This can help to address the biodiversity crisis, in other words the variety of life and species, by providing space for wildlife to live.
Forests also play a vital role in the bio-economy, by providing renewable raw materials for the manufacture of a wide range of wood products, such as timber for use in construction.
Bogs and wetlands can reduce the effects of storm and flood events by naturally storing water in the landscape like a sponge, and releasing it slowly back into the atmosphere.
The planting of new forests gives farmers the opportunity to expand the use of their lands and future income.
The State offers a number of supports to landowners to plant new forest or support existing forests. Teagasc provides the following grants:
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