Forestry as a Weapon in Tackling Carbon Emissions
There is no doubt about it; forestry is an underutilized weapon in the fight against Carbon Emissions, especially in Ireland. This point has recently been underlined by Forest Industries Ireland (FII), who have said forestry could potentially provide over 300 million tonnes of additional carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration by 2050. This is a huge number, so to put that into perspective, 300 million tonnes of carbon dioxide is roughly equivalent to:
The yearly emissions of 75 coal-fired power plants
Over 65 million cars being driven for one year
Provide energy for over 36 Million Homes for one full year
Right now, 11% of Irelands Land Area is covered by forests and woodlands. This equates to just over 770,000 ha. This represents significant growth considering forests and woodlands accounted for only 2% of land cover at the beginning of the 20th century. Despite this progress, we are still lagging significantly behind the EU Average for Forest Coverage, which currently stands at 38%.
According to the FII, every m3 of timber product stores approximately 1 tonne of carbon dioxide. This would mean, Irish Forests contain 312 million tonnes of C02. Additionally, Irish forests absorb 5 million tonnes of Carbon Dioxide annually.
Despite the overwhelming evidence of the strength of afforestation as a key weapon in tackling Carbon Emissions, there are many issues in the sector, including providing licenses for new forests, missed targets, etc.
Yesterday, The Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine(DAFM) Pippa Hackett stated that a Citizens’ Assembly format will be used to develop a new forestry plan. She announced there will be extensive consultation on the new National Forestry Strategy and the next forestry programme.
The Forestry sector is worth €2.3 billion & employs around 12,000 people, so protecting it, and increasing carbon sequestration in the process, is in the best interests of everyone involved.
