Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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139. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will report on the work his Department is doing to reduce emissions from the energy sector in the context of our climate action targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19150/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Climate Action Plan 2023 builds on the previous climate action plans and is the framework through which the government intends to meet the legally-binding, economy-wide carbon budgets and sectoral ceilings agreed in July 2022.

Emissions must be reduced in the electricity sector by 75% and to achieve this, we will facilitate a large-scale deployment of renewables, as well as enabling the electrification of other technologies. This includes:

• an acceleration of the delivery of onshore wind to 9GW, solar to 8GW, and offshore wind to at least 5GW
• supporting at least 500MW of local, community-based renewable energy projects and increased levels of new micro-generation and small-scale generation
• phasing out the use of coal and peat in electricity generation

• retrofitting the equivalent of 120,000 dwellings to BER B2 by 2025, and 500,000 dwellings by 2030
• installing up to 0.8TWh of district heating capacity by 2025, and up to 2.7TWh by 2030 – enough to meet 10% of energy demand
• installing heat pumps in 45,000 existing dwellings and in 170,000 new dwellings by 2025, increasing to 400,000 and 280,000 respectively by 2030.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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140. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will indicate the processes which he has put in place to set sectoral targets under Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19321/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Ireland’s strategic approach to the Circular Economy is currently set out in the Whole-of-Government Circular Economy Strategy 2022-2023. Section 7 of the Circular Economy Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 (‘the Act’) provides a statutory basis for future iterations of the Strategy, and also requires that such iterations include targets aimed at promoting circularity across the range of resource-intensive economic sectors specified in the Act.

My Department has begun preparing the second iteration of the Strategy, which will be published on a statutory basis and will be fully in compliance with the provisions of Section 7 of the Act. The new Strategy will be submitted for Government approval, following a public consultation, before the end of this year.

In order to provide a robust evidence base for the new Strategy, my Department is commissioning a national circularity assessment and material flow analysis, based on an internationally recognised methodology. This assessment will inform the sectoral priorities of the new Strategy in general and the setting of sectoral targets in particular. I intend to publish the results of the assessment either alongside or as part of the Strategy.

Additionally, a sectoral Circular Construction Roadmap is being prepared my Department, in conjunction with an expert subgroup of the Construction Sector Group chaired by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. This work will, inter alia, inform the new Strategy’s approach to the Construction sector including target setting. The Roadmap will also be submitted to Government before the end of this year.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Climate Action is the most pressing long-term global challenge of our time and is a significant priority for this Government. The Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) continues to highlight the link between climate change and biodiversity loss, underscoring the need to safeguard biodiversity and ecosystems as a fundamental part of building climate resilience.

Our Climate Action Plan reflects the need to integrate environmental and biodiversity actions with the climate action. The Climate Action Plan will be updated annually. It will be improved and strengthened when required, allowing us to integrate new policies and learnings from across society and Government, for what is a very significant and complex undertaking.

How we use our land has implications for human life, biodiversity and climate action. The Programme for Government committed to a Land-use Review to ensure that optimal land use options inform all relevant Government decisions. The first phase of the Land-use Review, focused on the evidence and the final report had 19 recommendations indicating the need for: more monitoring; enhancing of our mapping capability; and better application of these tools to inform decision-making. The second phase, following on from the first, will seek to optimise land use across key Government objectives, improving socioeconomic, climate, biodiversity, water and air quality outcomes.

In the meantime, the Climate Action Plan, among many actions on land, is seeking to deliver 35,900 hectares of peatland restoration as part of Bord na Móna Enhanced Decommissioning Rehabilitation and Restoration Scheme (EDRRS) and the EU LIFE People and Peatlands programme. Returning these lands to more natural conditions will not just reduce carbon emissions but deliver a range of co-benefits, including the enrichment of Ireland’s natural capital; an increase in ecosystem services; strengthened biodiversity; and improved water quality and storage attenuation; as well as developing amenity potential.

In relation to the marine environment, we are assisting Ireland in meeting its objectives under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive and Natura Directives. Ensuring that nature-based solutions are included in Ireland’s mitigation, resilience, and adaptation actions.