Written answers

Thursday, 29 March 2018

Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Photo of Margaret Murphy O'MahonyMargaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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336. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the provisions in place for climate change in the Project Ireland 2040 framework (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14532/18]

Photo of Margaret Murphy O'MahonyMargaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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339. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his views on the way in which investments will be prioritised effectively to provide a viable economic future while at the same time honouring global commitments in greenhouse gas emission reduction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14601/18]

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 336 and 339 together.

Under the Paris Agreement, the EU has committed, on behalf of its Member States, to a reduction of at least 40% in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, to be achieved by reductions in the Emission Trading System (ETS) sector of 43% and in the non-ETS sector of 30%. With regard to Ireland’s contribution, in December 2017, the European Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on a target of a 30% reduction in Ireland’s 2005 emissions by 2030, with a starting point of May 2019, based on average emissions over the period 2016 to 2018. This proposal follows extensive negotiations, during which Ireland emphasised the need to prioritise a successful conclusion which retains a high environmental ambition for the EU, but provides each Member State with the capacity to contribute to that ambition in a cost-effective and fair manner.

The latest Environmental Protection Agency report on greenhouse gas emissions projections, published April 2017, indicates that Ireland is expected to exceed its annual limits from 2017 onwards, and that emissions could be between 4% and 6% below 2005 levels by 2020. The projected shortfall to our targets in 2020 reflects both the constrained investment capacity over the past decade due to the economic crisis, and the extremely challenging nature of the target itself. In fact, it is now accepted that Ireland’s 2020 target was not consistent with what would be achievable on an EU wide cost-effective basis.

Considering this, Ireland’s 2030 target will present a very significant challenge, the scale and complexity of which is not underestimated by this Government. As a means to addressing the climate challenge, I published Ireland’s first statutory National Mitigation Plan in July 2017. It provides a framework to guide investment decisions by Government in domestic measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Plan does not provide a complete roadmap to achieve either Ireland’s proposed 2030 target or the 2050 transition objective. However, it has established the framework for the development and implementation of medium-to-long-term policy options so as to achieve progressive emissions reductions in each of its four key sectors with the most significant contribution to national emissions (Electricity Generation; the Built Environment; Transport; and Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use). The Plan is a living document that will be updated as on-going analysis, dialogue and technological innovation generate more and more cost-effective sectorial mitigation options.

The most recent list of measures currently in place in the context of the National Mitigation Plan is set out in the 2017 Annual Transition Statement, which I laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas on 8 December last. This Statement details the key measures in place in the respective sectors, the objective for each measure, estimated mitigation potential and funding information, where appropriate.

Building on the approach set out in the National Mitigation Plan, the recently launched Project Ireland 2040 reaffirms the Government’s commitment to transitioning Ireland to a low carbon, climate resilient economy and society. As part of Project Ireland 2040, the National Planning Framework will guide national development and prioritised investment over the next two decades.  Implementation of the National Planning Framework at a local and regional level will take place in the context of, inter alia, new Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies, development plans and local authority statutory planning processes. The Framework does not, therefore, address specific provisions in relation to climate change for individual towns or local authority areas.

Under the new National Development Plan, Exchequer funding of €7.6 billion, together with investment of €14.2 billion by commercial State bodies will ensure a step change in strategic climate action investments. This means that almost €1 in every €5 to be spent in the framework of the National Development Plan over the next decade will be on climate action, with a strong focus on strategic investments in the areas of transport, renewable energy, grid development and interconnection, the built environment, and flood risk management, to address the significant climate change challenges that Ireland faces. Furthermore, a new Climate Action Fund, with an allocation of €500m, has been designed to leverage additional investment by public and private entities in climate action measures.

During the period of the Plan, key capital investments to be overseen by my Department will comprise some:

- €3.8 billion on upgrading the energy efficiency rating to achieve a minimum of BER Rating B in the existing residential, commercial and public building stock. Coupled with this, new buildings will be regulated to the highest standards and the roll-out of digital connectivity will facilitate “smart buildings”;

- €1 billion on rolling out energy-efficient heating technologies under the Support Scheme for Renewable Heat aimed at large heat users, along with support for heat pumps and roof solar in at least 170,000 homes;

- €0.2 billion to incentivise the uptake of 500,000 electric vehicles by 2030, and provide additional charging infrastructure.  Related support measures include a ban on new non-zero emission cars being sold in Ireland after 2030 and no NCT certificate for non-zero emission cars after 2045

- €0.1 billion on energy research funding to accelerate diversification away from fossil fuels to green energy.

This funding commitment provides a clear opportunity for significant upscaling in our investments to deliver deep emissions reductions in the coming decade and to further develop and implement the National Mitigation Plan. This will be essential in order to meet Ireland’s 2030 targets, as well as to make significant progress towards Ireland’s National Transition Objective for 2050 to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in Ireland by at least 80% (compared to 1990 levels) and, in parallel, to pursue an approach to carbon neutrality in the agriculture and land-use sector, including forestry, which does not compromise capacity for sustainable food production.

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