Ireland’s climate targets: the clock is ticking and the bill is mounting

Despite the daunting gap, Ireland has shown it can bend the emissions curve. A 6.8% drop in one year proves that action, combined with factors like a mild winter and a shift away from coal, has an impact

Dr Michelle McKeown: "Climate change does not negotiate. Delay simply means steeper cuts later and higher financial penalties."

Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions are finally pointing in the right direction. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), total emissions fell by 2% in 2024, following a 6.8% drop in 2023. For the first time in more than three decades, we are more than 3% below our 1990 baseline.

That’s the good news. The bad news? Even with these recent wins, Ireland is still on course to miss its legally binding 2030 climate targets by a wide margin. The figures may look heartening on paper, but when set beside our legal obligations and the unforgiving physics of the atmosphere, they start to look more like a polite tap on the brakes than a decisive turn of the wheel.