Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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134. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if the EPA’s emissions data will provide a breakdown of emissions by income decile to highlight the relationship between emissions and wealth. [25568/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The EPA is responsible for compiling the inventories of greenhouse gas emissions for Ireland and for reporting the data to the relevant European and international institutions. As such, Ireland’s legal reporting obligations require that the agency submits data to the European Commission and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The emissions data are compiled using methodologies in accordance with UNFCCC reporting guidelines and are disaggregated on a sectoral basis in alignment with the classification used for UNFCCC reporting, although some adjustments are made for ease of comparison with national policies.

Providing a breakdown of emissions by income decile is not available from the data collated and published by the EPA. However, there is significant work being undertaken to assess the economic and socio-economic impacts of climate change in Ireland, including research and analysis from the EPA.

Moreover, the Government has adopted, through Climate Action Plan 2023, a framework for a just transition to support and inform climate action policy and implementation. The framework comprises four principles:

• An integrated, structured, and evidence-based approach to identify and plan our response to just climate transition requirements.
• People are equipped with the right skills to be able to participate in and benefit from the future net zero economy.
• The costs are shared so that the impact is equitable and existing inequalities are not exacerbated.
• Social dialogue to ensure impacted citizens and communities are empowered and are core to the transition process.