On the 17th of June 2019 Ireland’s Climate Action Plan was revealed, detailing the changes necessary to become a carbon neutral country by the year 2050. 

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It is split into several different sections, covering the main greenhouse gas emitters in the country, and the actions necessary to reduce emissions in these sectors.

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The main points of interest are included below. Please click on the link to view the Climate Action Plan in full.

Quarterly Update

An important aspect of the Climate Action Plan is the publication of quarterly reports which track the progress of climate goals set out for that particular quarter. Grian will include these quarterly updates to provide information on the success or indeed failure of the Climate Action Plan.

According to the update 85% or 149 of actions for quarters three and four of 2019 have been met, with the remainder scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. The actions completed are not significant changes but they hopefully provide a platform for necessary future actions.

The list of completed actions are included below. These are taken directly from an RTE article by Environmental and Science Correspondent George Lee.

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• Increase in carbon taxes in the budget.

• Commitment to ring fence up to 6 billion from the tax over the next 10 years for climate related projects.

• Phasing out of oil exploration in Irish waters.

• A new scheme for 1,200 on-street public charge points for electric vehicles, led by local authorities.

• The delivery of the first Luas extension.

• New requirements to ensure all new homes are Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) standard.

• New energy efficiency regulations for home renovations over a certain size.

• The signing of Climate Action Charters signed with all 31 local authorities.

• A commitment to a Just Transition Plan, with €31m announced in Budget 2020 for new measures.

• New rules for public procurement, meaning €12bn of State investment each year will be invested sustainably.

• A Budget 2020 commitment to increase the price of carbon to €80 per tonne in 2030, and to ring-fence all of the proceeds for climate action, tackling energy poverty and delivering a just transition.

• The establishment of a Climate Action Plan Delivery Board, led by the Department of the Taoiseach.

• A retrofitting model taskforce to deliver the new national retrofitting plan which will group homes in the same area together to lower cost, introducing easy pay back models (eg through utility bills) and smart financing.

• A €530m EU grant to deliver the Ireland-France Celtic Interconnector, which will link the Irish and French electricity grids to increase renewable electricity from 30% to 70%.

• The acceptance of Climate Advisory Council advice to ban all new oil exploration off Irish coastal waters.

• The holding of eight town hall meetings across the country to engage with local communities about climate action.