Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is important to put on the record that energy efficiency and decarbonisation are prioritised agendas already within the Defences Forces. The Defence Forces have been recording the energy consumption of their buildings and transport since 2007 and have reduced their energy consumption by 20% since the baseline year of 2009. The Defence Forces report their total final consumption to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland's monitoring and reporting system. In 2020, the activities of the Defence Forces accounted for 46.8 million kg CO2. The Defence Forces have implemented a structured energy management system, which since 2012 has been independently certified to the international energy management standard.

The Defence Forces senior energy executive, SEE, approves the annual energy plan of action for the Defence Forces. The SEE has been examining courses of action to achieve 2030 decarbonisation targets across all energy types. The current plan of action includes energy-saving initiatives across all domains: naval, air and road transport and infrastructure. That is happening there.

In regard to adaptation and response abroad, it is no secret that we are trying to advocate on the Security Council at the moment to get a resolution agreed on climate and security to recognise that the UN needs to be more active in that area.

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