The Government is providing €108m in funding to Bord na Móna for its peatlands restoration plan to turn 80,000ha of bog into a carbon sink.
It'sestimated that at present 109m tonnes of carbon is stored in the bogs.
The project aims to sequester a further 3.2m tonnes of greenhouse gases, recreate native habitats and reverse the fragmentation of other habitats and the loss of biodiversity corridors within the wider landscape.
The plan includes a wide range of work on the bogs, including preparatory, decommissioning, restoration and rehabilitation works.
The funding from Government will be sourced from the Climate Action Fund and will be in addition to Bord na Móna’s €18m investment in the project.
Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan said the Government's decision to commit €108m in funding to the bog rehabilitation scheme for thousands of hectares of peatlands is a major milestone.
Potential of bogs
“The potential of our boglands to capture and store millions of tonnes of carbon over the years is phenomenal. Bog rehabilitation and remediation is a wonderful example of just transition in action, where workers who previously harvested peat for power generation will now be the custodians of our bogs," Ryan said.
“This project will turn carbon sources into sinks, restore biodiversity and help us meet our climate goals. Employing 350 people, it will also be a pilot project for the just transition we need to make as we adapt our society and economy to tackle climate change."
Bord na Móna chief executive Tom Donnellan said the funding is a “major win” for progress on climate action in Ireland.
“Peatlands only cover 3% of the earth’s surface but hold 30% of all the carbon stored on land. They have a unique natural power to capture carbon and deliver significant wins for us and for future generations.
“Bord na Móna’s new peatlands restoration plan will work with nature to make this happen and will demonstrate its leadership role in climate action, delivering on government policy and national decarbonisation objectives,” he said.
Midlands funding
The Department of Environment has also announced that provisional offers of funding, totalling €27.8m, have been made today to 47 projects in the midlands under the Just Transition Fund.
The projects represent innovative and inspiring plans from businesses, local authorities and communities in the midlands who are committed to creating a green and sustainable economy for the region.
The successful projects, which have been offered funding greater than €100,000 each, including projects on local food hubs, greenways and employee supports for Bord na Móna employees.
The chair of ICMSA’s farm and rural affairs committee has highlighted farmer concerns over the peatlands restoration project.
Denis Drennan said that no one doubted the need to address climate change but it is hugely important that the position of individual landowners in these areas is taken into account and that these farmers can continue to farm their land in a productive way.
He said that Bord na Móna will have to "provide clear assurances" that privately owned farmland adjacent to the Bord na Móna sites will not be flooded or water-logged as part of the projected rewetting of the 80,000ac.
Drennan said that ICMSA believes that the Government and Bord na Móna owe it to neighbouring farmers to explain what they’re doing and also commit in a binding way to make good any damage to the conditions of the land owned by these farmers caused by the project.
“We can’t have a situation where generations of work by farm families is destroyed by leakage from nearby Bord na Móna rewetting work. That’s not a lot to ask and we’re going to insist upon it before the project begins," he said.
Read more
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The Government is providing €108m in funding to Bord na Móna for its peatlands restoration plan to turn 80,000ha of bog into a carbon sink.
It'sestimated that at present 109m tonnes of carbon is stored in the bogs.
The project aims to sequester a further 3.2m tonnes of greenhouse gases, recreate native habitats and reverse the fragmentation of other habitats and the loss of biodiversity corridors within the wider landscape.
The plan includes a wide range of work on the bogs, including preparatory, decommissioning, restoration and rehabilitation works.
The funding from Government will be sourced from the Climate Action Fund and will be in addition to Bord na Móna’s €18m investment in the project.
Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan said the Government's decision to commit €108m in funding to the bog rehabilitation scheme for thousands of hectares of peatlands is a major milestone.
Potential of bogs
“The potential of our boglands to capture and store millions of tonnes of carbon over the years is phenomenal. Bog rehabilitation and remediation is a wonderful example of just transition in action, where workers who previously harvested peat for power generation will now be the custodians of our bogs," Ryan said.
“This project will turn carbon sources into sinks, restore biodiversity and help us meet our climate goals. Employing 350 people, it will also be a pilot project for the just transition we need to make as we adapt our society and economy to tackle climate change."
Bord na Móna chief executive Tom Donnellan said the funding is a “major win” for progress on climate action in Ireland.
“Peatlands only cover 3% of the earth’s surface but hold 30% of all the carbon stored on land. They have a unique natural power to capture carbon and deliver significant wins for us and for future generations.
“Bord na Móna’s new peatlands restoration plan will work with nature to make this happen and will demonstrate its leadership role in climate action, delivering on government policy and national decarbonisation objectives,” he said.
Midlands funding
The Department of Environment has also announced that provisional offers of funding, totalling €27.8m, have been made today to 47 projects in the midlands under the Just Transition Fund.
The projects represent innovative and inspiring plans from businesses, local authorities and communities in the midlands who are committed to creating a green and sustainable economy for the region.
The successful projects, which have been offered funding greater than €100,000 each, including projects on local food hubs, greenways and employee supports for Bord na Móna employees.
The chair of ICMSA’s farm and rural affairs committee has highlighted farmer concerns over the peatlands restoration project.
Denis Drennan said that no one doubted the need to address climate change but it is hugely important that the position of individual landowners in these areas is taken into account and that these farmers can continue to farm their land in a productive way.
He said that Bord na Móna will have to "provide clear assurances" that privately owned farmland adjacent to the Bord na Móna sites will not be flooded or water-logged as part of the projected rewetting of the 80,000ac.
Drennan said that ICMSA believes that the Government and Bord na Móna owe it to neighbouring farmers to explain what they’re doing and also commit in a binding way to make good any damage to the conditions of the land owned by these farmers caused by the project.
“We can’t have a situation where generations of work by farm families is destroyed by leakage from nearby Bord na Móna rewetting work. That’s not a lot to ask and we’re going to insist upon it before the project begins," he said.
Read more
EU plans major overhaul of climate targets for agriculture and forestry
Farmed peatland rewetting scheme to open in 2021
Soil study to identify lands for rewetting
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