Dr. Diarmuid Torney:

I thank the committee for the invitation to present our research, Advancing the Low-Carbon Transition in Irish Transport. My colleague, Dr. Laura Devaney, of the School of Law and Government in Dublin City University and I completed this research which was commissioned by the National Economic and Social Council, NESC. However, the analysis and conclusions are ours and do not necessarily represent the views of the council or its secretariat.

The climate crisis has gained unprecedented prominence in Irish politics, media and society in recent months. This is not before time but better late than never. Stark warnings last October from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, highlighted the risks involved if we fail to limit global heating to 1.5°C. These risks include more extreme droughts and floods, as well as severe impacts on ecosystems and human communities. The IPCC report was equally unequivocal in highlighting that we are on a dangerous pathway. The world has already warmed by approximately 1°C and we are currently headed for 3°C of heating. To have a chance of limiting heating to 1.5°C, we need a radical change of direction that will bring us to zero net greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of the century.

Young people took to the streets across the country in their thousands in March and again last month to put pressure on politicians to tackle the climate crisis which poses a grave threat to their future. The results of the recent European and local elections illustrated that climate change has indeed moved to the centre of politics. Momentum for necessary climate action is growing. However, emissions projections from the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, show that Ireland will, in a best-case scenario, achieve a 0.4% reduction in emissions in the sectors of the economy outside the EU Emissions Trading Scheme by 2020. This compares to a 20% decarbonisation target. Nobody claims that Ireland’s transition to a climate safe future will be cheap or easy. If it were, we would have done it long ago. What is beyond doubt, however, is that it is necessary and achievable.

Ireland has struggled to decarbonise transport. Emissions from this sector fell during the recession but have grown significantly since and remain responsible for approximately 20% of our national emissions. The NESC commissioned Dr. Devaney and I to undertake a study of how governance structures enable or constrain low-carbon transition in Irish transport. It is important to note that, in focusing on governance structures, our report does not go into detail on what the appropriate balance is between different specific modes of transport or what policy instruments are best placed to spur low-carbon transition.

Governance institutions are key enabling factors for decarbonisation across economy and society. The international literature on governance of low-carbon transition points to the importance of bottom-up innovation and experimentation, as well as top-down direction from central government. Drawing on desk-based research and interviews with key stakeholders, we show how a low-carbon transition in Irish transport could be better facilitated by modifications to governance institutions and the broader policy system.

There are three dimensions to our diagnosis of the challenges facing the transport sector in transitioning to a low-carbon future. First, the Irish transport sector is inherently complex. There are tensions between public and private actors in charge of different transport options, rural and urban divides, as well as special interests playing a strong role. Delivering transport also interacts in complex ways with broader policy systems, including where we locate our housing, schools, hospitals and other facilities. Second, low-carbon transition is not yet a priority in transport. Contestation between different players has shaped the development of a carbon-intensive transport system to date. There is also disagreement over what low-carbon transition might entail across different elements of the transport sector such as between passenger and freight transport. Third, our system of transport decision-making is deeply fragmented. Authority is spread among multiple institutions whose mandates often have not kept pace with the urgency of the climate crisis.