Hybrid panel discussion on land use - protecting forestry, peatlands and agriculture in Ireland, South East Technological University, Wexford

The European Commission Representation in Ireland is hosting a panel discussion with leading experts in land use, biodiversity and environmental issues.

Speakers at this hybrid event will include:

• Seán Kelly, MEP Ireland South
• Dr Nick McCarthy, Programme Leader in Land Management (Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture) from SETU Wexford
• Fiona O'Rourke, Manager of the Environmental Analytics team at the EPA.
• Stuart Meikle, Land use and agricultural policy specialist.

The panel discussion will be followed by a Q&A session with participants.

The event will be moderated by Tim Hayes, Head of Communications a the European Commission Representation in Ireland.

Registration and light refreshments will be provided from 13.00.

Background

On 14 July 2021, the European Commission adopted a series of legislative proposals setting out how it intends to address land use, climate neutrality in the EU by 2050 and an intermediate target of an at least 55% net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Two years on from these proposals, the European Commission Representation in Ireland is hosting a panel discussion with leading experts in land use, sustainability and environmental protection. This discussion will focus on the challenges and opportunities posed by the first major reforms of this scale in decades.

The Commission’s package proposes to revise several pieces of EU climate legislation, including the land use legislation, EU ETS, Effort Sharing Regulation, and transport, setting out in real terms the ways in which the Commission intends to reach EU climate targets under the European Green Deal. Under current EU legislation adopted in May 2018, EU Member States have to ensure that accounted greenhouse gas emissions from land use, land use change or forestry are balanced by at least an equivalent accounted removal of CO2 from the atmosphere in the period 2021 to 2030.

The event is designed to follow-up the European Commission’s proposals and assess Member States commitments to ensure that accounted emissions from land use are entirely compensated by an equivalent accounted removal of CO2 from the atmosphere through action in the sector. This is known as the “no debit” rule.

Tackling emissions in land use is crucial for achieving the EU's climate and environmental goals. Land use is one of the largest sources of carbon emissions in Europe. Compensating land use emissions would incentivise climate action, reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere and support the transition outlined in the Green New Deal.