Eamon Ryan warns businesses to cut emissions or face going bust

Environment Minister Eamon Ryan: 'We’ve already been starting to talk to businesses, and they all realise they won’t be in business in 10 or 15 years’ time if they’re not part of the climate solution.' Picture: Liam McBurney/PA

Businesses must prioritise sustainable transport and help to tackle climate change in the next decade or face going bust, Green Party leader and Environment Minister Eamon Ryan has said.

Pointing to wildfires and record temperatures in Europe, Mr Ryan said businesses must decarbonise and choose greener transport options such as rail.

Mr Ryan’s comments came as he unveiled a €36bn all-island railway expansion plan that will increase the frequency of trains, reopen routes, and take more haulage off the roads by creating rail links to ports in Limerick, Cork, Rosslare, and Dublin.

However, in comments that appear at odds with Mr Ryan, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar yesterday stressed the need to continue to heavily invest in road infrastructure, adding that in a country the size of Ireland there are “limitations” to what can be done in relation to rail expansion.

Tensions have been mounting between the two Coalition partners on the issue of transport, with Fine Gael backbenchers hitting out at Mr Ryan over the withdrawal of funding for a number of national road projects and demanding a meeting with him on this before the end of the month.

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB

However, Mr Ryan said investing in a national rail network is crucial to meeting climate targets and to balanced regional development.

“Look what’s happening in Rhodes in Greece,” said Mr Ryan. “Our world is burning and we need to make a shift to lower our emissions in transport.

“We’ve already been starting to talk to businesses, and they all realise they won’t be in business in 10 or 15 years’ time if they’re not part of the climate solution. So those businesses are starting to realise: ‘Yeah, we do need to make a switch.’ ”

The All-Island Strategic Rail Review sets out a list of projects to be delivered by 2050, including reinstating a large section of the Western Rail Corridor and increasing the speed of intercity trains to 200kmh to ensure rail journeys are more attractive than using the car.

However, Mr Varadkar and Mr Ryan appear to differ on how much the plan will achieve.

The Taoiseach said that even if all the projects outlined are delivered, just 10% of freight will go by rail and only 6% of passenger journeys will be by train.

'More road investment'

“So that makes the case to me for more road investment, because 90% of freight will still be by road and 94% of passenger journeys will still be by road, even if we do all of those things by 2050,” said Mr Varadkar, adding that further moves to use of electric vehicles should be encouraged.

Mr Ryan said these figures are simply “indicative” and he is “absolutely convinced” the number using new rail services will go “way beyond” the estimates.

“I believe when we create a freight option in Dublin Port, a real one, and in Rosslare and in Cork and in Waterford and in Limerick, we will see that switch to freight way beyond 10%,” said Mr Ryan.

“Every single occasion where we’ve provided new public transport services, the public flock to it. So don’t see that as a limit on ambition, that’s actually the bare minimum of what we need to do.

“We have to take climate seriously now. We have to make sure that in every area we’re investing for the future. By the time this investment is rolled out, by 2050, we’re going to be a world that is changing.”