Dr. Eimear Cotter:

The Chairman referenced our greenhouse gas emission projections. They were published last year and showed a shortfall in meeting our 2020 targets. We are working on updating the numbers, but the overall message remains relevant. On what we would like to see happen to bridge the gap to our targets, what is required is full implementation of the national mitigation plan and delivery on the ambitions and commitments contained in it. As policies and measures are developed and elaborated on by Departments, we are reliant on them to give us the detail in order that we can work them into our projections and analyses and thus determine how we are doing in following the trajectory to meeting our 2020 targets and outwards. We are here to talk about overall implementation of the national mitigation plan.

On the individual sectors and what we would like to see happen, we have already touched on many of the issues which arise. Heat and transport are the two most difficult sectors. On the heat side, what is required is a combination of energy efficiency, about which we have heard much today, and a ramping up of the scale of energy efficiency in buildings and businesses, while also looking at the use of cleaner renewable energy. The Government has already committed to providing a renewable heat incentive which should help us to make strides on the heating side.

On transport and the ambitions in the use of biofuels, again, a combination of measures is required. Transport is a really difficult sector. It is about the use of alternative fuels and technologies such as electric vehicles and also looking at other issues outside technology, including integrating land use planning and transport investment. Much of our investment has already happened in this space. As we look to the future, we must ensure that where we build houses, businesses and schools we have transport investment such that the reliance on private cars will be reduced. This may include the provision of fiscal incentives. We have seen some success in the rebalancing of VRT and motor tax rates to encourage people to buy cleaner vehicles. It is always going to about be a suite measures. There will never be one solution. These are really difficult sectors in which to achieve progress. Given their dispersed nature, we will need to move on all fronts. The national mitigation plan provides us with the start.