Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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462. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his vision for the future for enabling the transport sector to meet its obligations while complying with international agreements affecting the industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21279/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As regards the transport sector’s international climate obligations, my vision for the transport sector is for a carbon neutral sector by 2050 per the UN Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal. The Climate Action Plan 2021 sets out the concrete actions to deliver on the overall objective of reducing transport emissions by 2030 in line with both our national and these international obligations. 

The actions focus on four key areas:

- Sustainable Mobility – helping people choose sustainable options and delivering500,000 additional daily public transport andactive travel journeys - a 14% increase.

- Electrification – accelerating the pace of Electric Vehicle (EV) take-up, almost 1 million EVs in the privatetransport fleet by 2030.  Increasing public transport, including railand bus electrification, to reduce reliance on fossil fuelled transport.

- Demand management – introducing measures at national, regional and local level tomanage travel demand more efficiently and reducing the remaining fossilfuelled car kms by approximately 10%.

- Increased biofuels mix - increasing the proportion of biofuels to a 20% blend fordiesel and 10% for petrol, to reduce emissions from the existing fleet.

- The revised National Development Plan (NDP) also aligns transport investment plans with climate objectives and has dedicated €1bn towards decarbonisation of transport in the period out to 2030.  This funding will assist the transport sector to reduce its carbon emissions and to transform our communities into healthier places to live.  Funding is being prioritised to encourage a shift from private cars to active and public transport options and to encourage greater take-up of EVs over the next ten years.

- In December 2021, my department published the National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland (NIFTI) which sets out four strategic priorities for investment in land transport, one of which is decarbonisation. Future transport investment projects will have to demonstrate their fit with NIFTI, the National Planning Framework and National Strategic Outcomes.

- In addition, the National Sustainable Mobility Policy was published in March 2022. It sets out a strategic framework to 2030 for active travel and public transport to support Ireland’s overall requirement to achieve a 51% reduction in carbon emissions by the end of this decade. 

- In support of EV adoption, a draft National EV Charging Infrastructure Strategy was published on March 31, 2022, which seeks to prioritise the delivery of fast and rapid charge point infrastructure over the next three years. The Strategy makes several recommendations in relation to the actions, funding streams and supports that will be put in place by Government to deliver a seamless publicly accessible charging network.

- International Aviation Emissions are not included in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement and measures to mitigate emissions in that sector are taken at EU and ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) level. ICAO’s ‘basket of measures’ aims to reduce emissions through Market-based Measures, Operational Improvements, Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Improved Aircraft Technology. Several of the EU’s Fit for 55 proposals aim to reduce aviation emissions. These include, inter alia, the ReFuelEU Initiative which will mandate fuel suppliers to blend increasing amounts of SAF with kerosene between 2025 and 2050 and the Revision of the ETS for Aviation which aims to abolish the free allowances currently granted to airlines and integrate, as appropriate, CORSIA, ICAO’s global aviation emission offsetting scheme with the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).

- When taken together, these plans, along with a wide range of Government supports, will enable the transport sector to meet its international obligations on climate change.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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463. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the degree to which the transport sector can avail or is availing of bio or non-fossil fuels in such a way as to meet carbon reduction targets as well as transport requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21280/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The use of biofuels is currently one of the main pillars of land transport decarbonisation. Since 2010, increasing volumes of biofuels have been introduced to the Irish conventional fuel mix through a biofuel blending obligation on fuel suppliers.

The obligation ensures that a certain percentage of the motor fuel placed on the market comes from renewable sources, for example bioethanol and biodiesel. In 2020 alone, 239 million litres of biofuels replaced about 209 million litres of fossil fuels, avoiding approximately 520 KtCO2eq. GHG emissions.

Biofuels will remain a core transitional measure for medium-term reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in road transport. This is particularly so for hard to abate sectors such as heavy-duty vehicles, where alternative transport energy and technology are at early and varying stages of development.

I published the Renewable Fuels for Transport Policy Statement in November 2021. The Statement sets out a roadmap for the supply and use of renewable energy in transport to address Ireland’s national commitments under the Climate Action Plan 2021 and European obligations under the Renewable Energy Directive.

The Policy Statement addresses a number of objectives. The Policy sets out an indicative trajectory for the annual increase in biofuel blending in transport fuel supply in Ireland to meet the climate action plan 2021 targets for 2030. It also provides measures to incentivise greater supply and use of advanced and development fuels in transport. The Policy also aims to ensure the highest standards of sustainability with regard to biofuels supply. To support the future development of the Policy, my Department is this year carrying out a study concerning the sustainability and availability of bio- and renewable fuels supply and demand in transport.

The Renewable Fuel for Transport Policy is currently subject to public consultation. The consultation follows a stakeholder engagement earlier this year comprising of a series of targeted themed stakeholder workshops and webinar. The written phase of the consultation commenced on 8 April and will run for a period of 6 weeks until 20 May 2022. A written report on the outcome of the consultation is expected by the end of June. More information on the consultation can be found on the Gov.ie website, at: 

www.gov.ie/en/consultation/334b9-consultation-on-the-renewable-fuels-for-transport-policy/