MEP: 'Coillte has dropped pretence it cares about the environment'
Independent MEP Michael McNamara says he believes Coillte's decision to shut down its not-for-profit branch, Coillte Nature, is solely driven by commercial purposes.
Coillte announced its decision to "absorb the work" of Coillte Nature on last Saturday (March 22),
According to the organisation, the change will assist its delivery of nature restoration projects.
"Given the scale of Coillte’s strategic vision, specifically its climate and nature ambitions to 2050, this reorganisation will enable Coillte to significantly increase its delivery of climate and nature restoration projects," it said.
"By leveraging its economies of scale, Coillte aims to ensure a fully integrated approach to all nature and biodiversity projects going forward, thereby effectively delivering on its long-term ambitions."
But McNamara said that staff deployed to Coillte Nature will be transferred to Nature Trust, a separate not-for-profit co-founded by Coillte that offers corporate investors “woodland credits” in return for financing planting.
He said: "Once again we will see carbon credits going to private investors, many of whom are largely responsible for huge carbon emissions, in exchange for token planting.
"Coillte has now publicly dropped the false pretence that it cares about the environment and is unequivocally prioritising its commercial objectives over its climate and biodiversity responsibilities."
The Clare MEP has called for the organisation to explain its decision, given that carbon offset and credit programmes can complicate the question of who has the right to claim emission reductions from trees absorbing and storing carbon dioxide.
He said: “These are all business decisions that Coillte are making, and they must not forget that these decisions are being made on behalf of the Irish tax payer.
"Greater transparency surrounding its environmental targets and projects moving forward is required, and I urge the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications, Darragh O’Brien, to summon the Coillte decision-makers to answer for their decisions.”
McNamara believes the public deserve "honest answers" to the questions posed by the decision.
"Farmers have been told time and time again that the heavy lifting would be done by Coillte and other state agencies on state-owned land, but this decision just gives them further reason to believe that they will bear the brunt," the MEP said.
"Coillte Nature was supposedly dedicated to the restoration, regeneration and rehabilitation of nature across Ireland, as per its mission statement.
"This decision for it to be absorbed into the main company flies in the face of its mission and needs to be meticulously examined," he added.
