New climate plan lacks bold actions needed to tackle crisis, says environmental group

The Government’s 2024 national climate plan outlines how Ireland “will accelerate the action required to respond to the climate crisis, putting climate solutions at the centre of Ireland’s social and economic development”.

The environmental NGO, Friends of the Earth, said, however, its initial view was that the document lacked the bold actions necessary to address the climate crisis.

It details how Ireland is making progress, “but measures must continue to be implemented at greater speed and scale to reduce emissions further while ensuring that quality of life is improved”, it adds.

Environmental Protection Agency inventory figures show Irish emissions fell by under 2 per cent between 2021 and 2022 – when the economy and population were increasing. A reduction in emissions of up to 5 per cent is predicted for 2023.

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While this is closer to annual reductions needed, it is significantly short of what is legally required in the overall 2021-2025 carbon budget and not enough to achieve a halving in emissions committed to by 2030.

The Government approved the plan subject to public consultation and a strategic environmental assessment to be concluded in early 2024.

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With more extreme and frequent climate impacts, the plan warns “there can be no room for complacency, and that there is still a significant challenge ahead of us if we are to transition to a greener, cleaner future that improves people’s quality of life”.

The Cop28 outcome shows the world can unite to address the source of climate breakdown, and “sets out a path for us all to achieve the double ambition we need”, Minister for Climate Eamon Ryan said.

In comparison to many other countries, “we have successfully mobilised climate action in this Government. We are also at an advantage because climate is not a divisive issue for the most part”, he said.

Ireland may be playing catch-up, “but overall, we are seeing the ship is turning in our buildings, electricity, farming, industry and public transport”.

While this was nowhere near enough “as more programmes come on stream, I believe we can begin to decrease our emissions exponentially”, Mr Ryan said.

Transport emissions are set to rise in 2023. “However, planning reform legislation is expected to be finalised in quarter one of 2024, and major transport projects . . . are expected to accelerate, helping to encourage greater modal shift.”

The plan allows for carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the cement sector and incinerators. As currently deployed, CCS is regarded as being expensive, inefficient in cutting emissions and unproven at scale.

It sets out new measures to achieve 5.5 million tonnes of emission reductions, which were classified last year as “unallocated savings”.

It also includes a new way of measuring emission reductions in land use and land use change – notably forestry and bog restoration – based on measuring activities irrespective of an emissions baseline, with the aim that they become stores of carbon rather than sources of emissions.

Mr Ryan said planning delays were a major obstacle. “That’s our biggest problem. I’m not blaming anyone, it was a whole a series of unfortunate events in An Bord Pleanála in the last two years; a real slowdown in the output. That’s back up and they’re fully resourced.”

He added: “But if I was to point to one difficulty it is the fact that all our public transport projects are waiting in planning; all our renewable projects are waiting in planning and that’s not serving anyone; the length of time . . . We have a real acute issue in terms of planning resources and the speed of our planning and legal system.”

Friends of the Earth chief executive Oisín Coghlan criticised the Government for publishing an important and complex document days before Christmas when “it should be a moment for national conversation about how we are going to reduce emissions fast enough to prevent climate breakdown and how we are going to do it fairly enough to leave no one behind”.

“Irish emissions are not yet reducing in line with the legally binding limits adopted by the Dáil. If this updated plan does contain new measures bold enough to close that emissions gap, the Government has them well hidden in the small print,” he said.

“A plan that really met the moment would be one that where the new actions were so innovative and disruptive that they caused a real public stir, most likely irritation and inspiration in equal measure.”

With an electoral cycle approaching the Coalition leaders were shying away from the political courage climate action needed, Mr Coghlan said.

The plan allows for carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the cement sector and incinerators. As currently deployed, CCS is regarded as being expensive, inefficient in cutting emissions and unproven at scale.

It sets out new measures to achieve 5.5 million tonnes of emission reductions, which were classified last year as “unallocated savings”.

It also includes a new way of measuring emission reductions in land use and land use change – notably forestry and bog restoration – based on measuring activities irrespective of an emissions baseline, with the aim that they become stores of carbon rather than sources of emissions.

Mr Ryan said planning delays were a major obstacle. “That’s our biggest problem. I’m not blaming anyone, it was a whole a series of unfortunate events in An Bord Pleanála in the last two years; a real slowdown in the output. That’s back up and they’re fully resourced.”

He added: “But if I was to point to one difficulty it is the fact that all our public transport projects are waiting in planning; all our renewable projects are waiting in planning and that’s not serving anyone; the length of time . . . We have a real acute issue in terms of planning resources and the speed of our planning and legal system.”

Friends of the Earth chief executive Oisín Coghlan criticised the Government for publishing an important and complex document days before Christmas when “it should be a moment for national conversation about how we are going to reduce emissions fast enough to prevent climate breakdown and how we are going to do it fairly enough to leave no one behind”.

“Irish emissions are not yet reducing in line with the legally binding limits adopted by the Dáil. If this updated plan does contain new measures bold enough to close that emissions gap, the Government has them well hidden in the small print,” he said.

“A plan that really met the moment would be one that where the new actions were so innovative and disruptive that they caused a real public stir, most likely irritation and inspiration in equal measure.”

With an electoral cycle approaching the Coalition leaders were shying away from the political courage climate action needed, Mr Coghlan said.

FoE would conduct its own analysis of the plan, he said. “The litmus test will be is it bold enough and specific enough for the EPA to be able to conclude that it can bring our emissions in line with the legal limits on climate pollution to the end of 2025 and 2030.”

The plan includes a proposed inter-departmental delivery and governance framework to further assess and consider potential options for allocating the current unallocated emissions savings for the second carbon budget period (2026-2030).

The proposed approach is focused on emerging technologies “where there is now greater evidence of technical and commercial readiness, and on the deployment of carbon removal technologies for hard to treat sectors (eg cement or aluminium smelting, which requires very high temperatures)”.

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