Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

On the same issue, the EPA stated that even if every measure in the Government's climate action plan was implemented, the reduction in emissions would only be 29% by 2030. As the Taoiseach knows, the legally binding target is 51%. We are no closer to meeting our targets than we were 12 months ago. His colleague Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications was on the defensive yesterday. He was annoyed that members of the Opposition were reading from the EPA report and quoting it accurately. We all know that the consequences of this failure will be catastrophic, particularly for rural and coastal communities. It will also expose us to multibillion euro fines from the EU, billions of euro which could be used to take climate action to retrofit homes across the country, restore biodiversity and improve water quality. Instead, the Government is going through that opportunity away. The biomethane plan is welcome but it will not bring us up to 51%. Has the Government any plan or intention to reach our legally binding targets?

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