Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 9, inclusive, together.

The Cabinet committee on the environment and climate change last met on 20 April 2023, and the next meeting will be scheduled shortly. Climate change is the most pressing global challenge of our time and the science is indisputable. We must break the link with fossil fuels. This urgency of action is reinforced by Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.

We must not just see climate change as a burden however. It is also a moment of opportunity. Achieving energy independence is our 21st century moonshot, but we can only achieve this by harnessing our untapped renewable energy resources. Ireland has some of the best offshore renewable energy potential, with a sea area that is seven times our landmass and the strongest regional wind speeds.

Ireland’s climate ambitions are now reflected in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act, which sets out challenging emissions reduction targets for 2030 and a target of achieving a climate-neutral economy by 2050. The Department of the Taoiseach has responsibility for preparing quarterly reports on the implementation of measures committed to under the climate action plan. The latest progress report for the plan was published last Thursday, 4 May 2023, and refers to actions that were due to be completed in the first quarter of 2023. The report was published on the Department’s website.

The first whole-of-government circular economy strategy was launched in December 2021, which set out an overall approach for this important area. This was followed by the enactment of the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 last July. The Act further underpins Ireland’s move towards adapting patterns of production and consumption, preventing waste generation, and extending the productive life of all products. It also provides a clear legislative framework for Ireland’s transition to a circular economy. The second version of the circular economy strategy is currently being developed by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. I understand it is due to be submitted to the Government for approval by the end of the year.

Ireland also continues to engage fully with the European Commission’s European Green Deal proposals to make sustainable products the norm in the EU, to boost circular business models, and to help reduce unnecessary waste in our production and consumption.

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