Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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19. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the projected spend on carbon credits between 2021 and 2030. [28307/19]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I published the Government's Climate Action Plan 2019 on 17 June. The plan sets out, for the first time, how Ireland can reach its 2030 targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and also put Ireland on the right trajectory towards net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The step-up in ambition in each of the sectors covered by the plan will require investment across the entire economy. Overall, through the mix of technologies and measures identified, the plan sets out the pathway that represents the least-cost burden to the economy as a whole.

A significant portion of the technologies and measures set out in the plan will result also in net lifetime cost savings to the economy as a whole.

In terms of costs to the Exchequer and other public funding, the plan will be funded through Project Ireland 2040 which provides €30 billion for low carbon and sustainable mobility investments in the period to 2027.

Many of the actions in the plan do not require public funding. The actions contained in this plan fall broadly into four categories:

- public funding provided in the annual estimates process and in Project Ireland 2040

- measures such as setting a long-term trajectory for the carbon tax, in order to change long-term behaviour and decisions to encourage investment in more sustainable choices

- new regulations to end certain practices (e.g. phasing out oil and gas boilers in homes or introducing low emission zones in cities)

- actions to promote public and community engagement and participation in reducing our emissions.

For the first time, a decarbonisation target has been set for each sector. Each Government Department must now determine the optimum approach to utilising the funding available to it to support the policies necessary to meet the targets proposed for each sector. The exact costs will be determined from the detailed policy design work which will consist of a mix of regulations, taxes, and subsidies which the Government may choose to deploy to achieve the target abatement range in each sector.

There would be a very significant costs to the Exchequer from not implementing any policies to achieve compliance with our 2030 targets, which would not only lock Ireland into a high carbon trajectory that would be unsustainable in the long-run but would require significant compliance costs to meet our legally binding EU targets. This could result in a cost to the Exchequer of up to €1.75 billion over the next decade. Full implementation of the Climate Action Plan would mean that Ireland would avoid incurring such costs.