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Ireland to report greenhouse gas emissions and removals from managed wetlands as part of progress towards EU greenhouse gas targets

Ireland has opted to include the impact of Managed Wetland on greenhouse gas emissions and removals from the beginning of 2021. This voluntary accounting puts Ireland on a stronger footing for accounting for greenhouse gas emissions and removals and in making the strategic changes required to support the country to meet our national, European and international climate change targets.

Under the EU Regulations, Managed Wetland includes wetland which remains as wetland, settlement or other land, converted to wetland; or wetland converted to settlement or other land. In Ireland, the majority of Managed Wetland falls under peatland from which peat for energy and horticultural purposes has been extracted.

While EU Member States currently report emissions and removals from the land use sector, these do not go towards greenhouse gas emissions targets. This will change with the application of a new EU land use accountingsystem, which will apply to emissions and removals over 2021-2030 (measured over two periods 2021-2025 and 2026-2030). The impact of emissions and removals from 5 out of 6 land use sectors will be included in the new system from 2021 (Managed Cropland, Managed Grassland, Afforestation, Deforestation, and Managed Forests), with Member States having the option to include the impact of the sixth, “Managed Wetland”, in this first period. It is anticipated that this will be mandatory for Managed Wetland in the second period.

This decision will also impact on how Irelandapproaches land use policy in relation to Managed Wetland and more generally;

  • accounting for emissions and removals from Managed Wetland will enhance motivation for the rehabilitation of degraded peatlands. The improvement of Ireland's peatlands has the potential to reduce emissions and in the longer term change them from a source to a sink.
  • the potential emission reductions and/or enhanced removals from Managed Wetland could be used to help Ireland achieve its  land use, land use change and forestry target, although, it is not possible to provide definitive estimations for such contributions at this time. This is also being considered under the EU Commission’s Green Deal.

starting the process now puts Ireland in a better position for the likely mandatory accounting of the second period, from 2026-2030. Ireland will have a head start in improving our inventory infrastructure and addressing the measurement and reporting issues for emissions factors and spatial land use data.

The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD stated “This decision to account for Managed Wetlands over the period 2021-2025 is another of the key building blocks we are putting in place to support the delivery of the Governments climate objectives. Our wetlands have a key role to play in both storing and capturing carbon emissions. What gets measured gets managed, and this will incentivise us to create more potential for carbon sinks.” 

The Minister also noted the benefits wetland ecosystems have for supporting biodiversity, flood defences and water management and purification alongside the potential for recreational and tourism opportunities.

Notes

This decision by the Minister for the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications is the result of a detailed evidential review and consultation with Government colleagues which demonstrated broad consensus that accounting of Managed Wetland for the first period of the LULUCF Regulations from 2021-2025 was a positive and logical progression in Ireland’s plan to address its greenhouse gas emission reduction and enhanced removal targets. The operational systems required and the methodological and analytical structures for measurement are tried, tested and flexible to allow for the improvements in data collection already in train across the country.

Notes

Overarching Measurement
  • The EU 2030 target is for at least a 40% reduction in domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to 1990 levels. Required reductions vary by sector and by member state. Every member state has an individual target, an individual one-off flexibility from emissions trading, and a margin of flexibility from land use.
  • The EU 2030 target is constructed as follows:
    • A 43% reduction in the Emissions Trading System (ETS) sector (power generation and large industry) compared to 2005 levels. This is a target established on anEU wide basis.
    • A reduction of 30% in the non-ETS sector compared to 2005 levels. Ireland’s non-ETS target is set out in the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) which sets a binding emissions reduction target of 30%. Each Member State has received an individual target to achieve the overall EU target of 30% - Ireland’s target is 30%.
    • For land use, the Regulation requires each Member State to ensure that accounted CO2eq emissions from the LULUCF sector are entirely compensated by an equivalent removal of CO2eq from the atmosphere through action in the LULUCF sector. This is calculated as the sum of total emissions and total removals in all of the land accounting categories defined in the LULUCF Regulation. This is referred to as the “no-debit” rule.

 

  • While EU Member States currently report emissions and removals from the land use sector, there are no specific targets for emissions and removals from land use. This will change with the application of a new EU land use accountingsystem that will apply from 2023 for the year 2021. Under this new system, emissions and removals will be assessed over two consecutive accounting periods, the first from 2021-2025 and the second from 2026-2030. Five of six land use sectors must be accounted for in the first period (Managed Cropland, Managed Grassland, Afforestation, Deforestation, and Managed Forests) with the sixth, Managed Wetland, to be accounted for on a mandatory basis in the second period[1] and for optional accounting in the first reporting period.
  • In recognition of the lower mitigation potential of the agriculture and land use sectors covered by the Effort Sharing Regulation (2018/842) (ESR), a LULUCF credit can be partially used to offset emissions under the ESR. If Ireland’s GHG emissions for a given year are in excess of the emission allocation for Ireland for that year, and if Ireland’s total accounted LULUCF emissions and removals are less than zero, then this “credit” can be taken into account for Ireland’s compliance that year. The cumulative quantity of such credits cannot exceed the maximum flexibility allocated to Ireland for the period 2021 to 2030, which is 26.8Mt CO2eq.

What is included in Managed Wetland?

  • Under Article 7 of the LULUCF Regulation accounting for Managed Wetland will be based on a historic reference period of 2005-2009, which is also applied for the categories Managed Grassland and Managed Cropland.
  • In line with IPCC guidelines and the LULUCF Regulation, accounting for emissions from Managed Wetland refers to those wetlands where the water table is artificially changed (e.g. drained or raised) or those created through human activity (e.g. damming a river). Under Article 1 “Scope” of the LULUCF Regulation, Managed Wetland includes:
    • wetland remaining wetland;
    • settlement or other land, converted to wetland; or
    • wetland converted to settlement or other land.
  • Emissions from pristine wetlands that have not been affected by human intervention, exploitation or management are not estimated but their land area is included for completeness of reporting so that all land area in the country is represented. In Ireland, the majority of Managed Wetland falls under peatland that has been exploited for the extraction of peat for energy and horticultural purposes.

Measurement Challenges

  • Ireland’s National Inventory Report 2020 outlines that both uncertainties in the extent of certain land management regimes and in associated emission factors contribute in equal measure to overall uncertainty in emissions and removals reported for Managed Wetland.
  • To address the data uncertainty issues, the EPA is funding a project investigating peatland properties influencing GHG emission and removals from peatlands in Ireland.[2] This includes a review of current models and tools used to assess peatland condition, and the significance of peatland properties and management in modelling GHG emissions. The EPA has also commenced the development of a spatial land use map which will help to refine areal data and emissions and removals estimates, though this project is in the early stages of development (commenced in Q3 2020, following a pilot study in Q4 2019), and any improvements in data are not likely to be significant for the first 1-2 years.

Further detail on the broader benefits of wetlands

[1] The mandatory accounting in the second reporting period will be subject to a review by the European Commission of Member State experience of applying the IPCC guidelines for estimating emissions and removals for Managed Wetlands. Depending on the outcomes of this review, the Commission may make a proposal to postpone the mandatory accounting for managed wetland for an additional period of five years. Emissions and removals from Managed Wetland will still be reported by all MS throughout both reporting periods, regardless of whether MS elect to account for Managed Wetland or not.

[2] NPWS are also 1) monitoring one raised bog that will undergo restoration with EC; 2) a blanket bog that will undergo restoration with EC under LIFE IP in 2021; 3) geographically spread chamber-GHG studies, for better reporting of raised bog cut habitats.