Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister knows, demand for gas for electricity generation, heating and other uses must fall by 40% this decade and by a further 80% in the 2030s if we are to meet our climate commitments. Despite this, we continue to prepare to build new gas-fuelled electricity generation plants. Even if all future data centres were to run on renewable energy, it would leave shortages of clean energy for other sectors. Gas is wrongly being peddled as a silver-bullet transition fuel. As the Minister knows, the effect of carbon emissions is cumulative. Is it not fair to say that we are locking in this infrastructure without a national plan?

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