Ireland exceeds emissions allocation by 5m tonnes

Ireland has exceeded its greenhouse gas emissions budget for the third year running and has moved even further from its climate action commitments. The Environmental Protection Agency says the country is now “significantly off course” in meeting the 2020 EU target.

The country overshot its emission allocation by 5m tonnes last year and by 3m tonnes in 2017. In 2016 it was off target by almost 300,000 tonnes. There was a significant reduction in emissions from energy last year but that was mainly because of maintenance work carried out at the Moneypoint station in Clare.

Household emissions increased by almost 8% in 2018, reflecting a colder winter and transport emissions increased by almost 2%, an indication of the growing economy. Agriculture emissions increased by almost 2% and the most significant drivers were higher dairy cow numbers as a result of national plans to expand milk production.

Provisional figures compiled by the EPA put total greenhouse emissions last year at 60.5m tonnes with agriculture the largest contributor at 34%. Emissions from the energy industry decreased by almost 12% — as well as an increase in renewable energy, there was a 44% decrease in coal because of maintenance works at Moneypoint.

Last year electricity generated from wind increased by 14% with almost a third of the electricity generated from renewables. Stephen Treacy, senior manager in the EPA’s office of environmental sustainability, said they estimated earlier this year that the 2020 target would be missed by 10m tonnes but that was before the Government published the Climate Action Plan.

“Some of the measures in the plan would have some impact but there are only two years left now and the projections are not very optimistic,” said Mr Treacy.

The 2020 target under the EU’s Effort Sharing Decision is to have emissions at 20% below 2005 levels.

Dr Eimear Cotter, director of the EPA’s office of environmental sustainability, said their figures show that they were “significantly off course”. However, the “big game changer” was the Climate Action Plan and that needed to be “swiftly implemented” to put Ireland on the right track to meet its commitments.

“Ireland must implement the ambitious commitments in the 2019 Climate Action Plan to play its role in averting the worst impacts of climate change,” said Dr Cotter.

Minister for Communications, Climate Action, and Environment Richard Bruton said the EPA’s figures showed the importance of implementing the Climate Action Plan. He welcomed the EPA’s support for the plan that ensures Ireland reaches 2030 climate targets, putting the country on a trajectory to having “net zero emissions” by 2050.