Climate experts call on Government to show 'greater ambition' on reducing carbon emissions

Transport, industry, and building heating systems are the three worst sectors in terms of matching their targets. File photo: John Giles/PA

Climate experts have called on the Government to significantly ramp up its focus on meeting Ireland’s carbon-reduction targets rather than risk spending the same money on massive EU fines at the end of the decade.

New figures from the Environmental Protection Agency show that, at best, Ireland is set to miss its own greenhouse emissions targets by over 50% by 2030.

More worrying for the Government, the report shows the country is also set to miss its 2030 EU-mandated carbon targets by a massive margin.

It could result in fines worth tens of billions of euro falling upon Ireland for its failure to match the bloc’s Effort Sharing Regulation, which penalises member states that are not doing their fair share in terms of climate action.

“Why would you not spend that money now to help citizens and the economy? Why would you instead send that money to overachieving states?” said Peter Thorne, professor in climate change at Maynooth University, in light of the EPA’s findings.

In effect we’ll be sending billions of euro to Spain. And even then, after that we’ll still have to reduce our emissions.

“We’ve got to see greater ambition and spending from Government,” said Prof. Thorne, acknowledging that the issue “is not just one of Government”.

“We all have to show some ambition in terms of what we can do — in how we spend our money, our time, and what kind of world we want to give to our children.”

EPA director general Laura Burke said the “lack of progress” represented by the figures “is concerning”. “Momentum is building for Ireland’s low-carbon society, but we need to accelerate it and scale up the transition,” she said.

The report brings together metrics from across society and State departments to show which sections are performing reasonably well —renewables, electricity — and those which are doing poorly.

Transport, industry, and building heating systems are the three worst sectors in terms of matching their targets.

With regard to agricultural emissions — which are expected to reduce by 16% — the EPA said that nevertheless agricultural targets are “no longer viable” due to the impact of updated science underpinning those assumptions.

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Emissions from the land sector are projected to increase by up to 95% by 2030, predominantly due to the maturing for harvesting of Ireland’s forests.

Hannah Daly, professor in sustainable energy at UCC, described the failure by Ireland to match its targets as “a staggering missed opportunity” given the scale of EU fines which may follow.

She said matching our obligations requires “more than ambition” from the Government. “It requires leadership, vast investment, and prioritising only truly sustainable economic growth,” said Prof. Daly.

“That means rapidly phasing out fossil fuels by prioritising renewables, electrification, and energy efficiency, and shifting away from an economic model overly reliant on fossil fuels and carbon-intensive agriculture.”

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