Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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15. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the assessment that has been conducted into the impact of remote working on year-on-year household electricity and energy usage, year-on-year overall electricity and energy usage; the implications of same for climate policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13762/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) are the competent authorities for national greenhouse gas emissions statistics and national energy statistics respectively. In January 2021, the EPA and SEAI jointly published 'The impact on 2020 greenhouse gas emissions of COVID-19 restrictions'which provides early estimates of Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption for 2020. This report can be found on the SEAI and EPA websites.

In summary, the report estimates that overall greenhouse gas emissions fell by 5.9% in 2020 compared to 2019, driven by a 17% reduction in the Transport sector and a 14% reduction in the Energy Industries sector (largely composed of the electricity generation sector), with the reduction in greenhouse gases from electricity generation driven by the reduced use of coal and peat and increased use of renewable electricity in the sector.

The report estimates that Residential sector emissions increased by 9% in 2020 largely due to an increase in working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. From a greenhouse gas emissions accounting perspective, residential sector emissions account for household heating needs where those needs are met using fossil fuels rather then electricity, which is accounted for in the Energy Industries sector.

The SEAI also publish monthly energy statistics bulletins on the impact of COVID-19 on energy demand trends for electricity, gas and oil, which can also be found on the SEAI website.

Next month the SEAI will publish the 2020 Provisional Energy Balance, which will provide further statistical detail on energy supply and use in 2020, including an estimate of the year-on-year change in electricity use.

Climate and energy policy is being pursued on the basis of achieving a 51% reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050. Temporary reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in some sectors due to the Covid-19 pandemic cannot be a substitute for the necessary polices and measures required to decarbonise each sector of our economy and society.