Written answers
Tuesday, 20 February 2024
Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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131. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the anticipated emissions from domestic aviation per year from 2022 to 2030 and the projected reductions with existing measures and with additional measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7470/24]
Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) performs the role of inventories and projections agency in respect of greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland and is responsible for preparing Ireland’s annual National Inventory Report (NIR) and periodic projections submissions in accordance with EU and international requirements.
In relation to inventories and projections reporting, domestic aviation is defined as ‘emissions from civil domestic passenger and freight traffic that departs and arrives in the same country’. In the context of the very limited emissions attributed to domestic aviation (projected at 0.1% of the Transport sector in 2022), modelling aimed at identifying a pathway to achieving our national carbon budget targets, carried out by the National Transport Authority for Climate Action Plan 2023, focused on the land (Road and Rail) transport sector (projected at 96% of the Transport sector in 2022). Consequently, the new measures identified in the Climate Action Plan 2023 focused primarily on land transport.
The following table sets out the projected emissions for the domestic aviation sector from 2022-2030, based on the EPA’s most recent projections, published in June 2023.
| Year | Domestic Aviation - projected Emissions (Kt CO2 eq) |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 18.53 |
| 2023 | 17.58 |
| 2024 | 17.96 |
| 2025 | 17.24 |
| 2026 | 17.34 |
| 2027 | 17.45 |
| 2028 | 17.56 |
| 2029 | 17.67 |
| 2030 | 17.7 |
Notwithstanding that only domestic aviation emissions are within the scope of Climate Action Plan targets, efforts to mitigate the overall climate impact of air transport operations are being pursued at EU and international levels by the Government through a range of approaches, including promoting operational efficiencies, technology innovations, sustainable aviation fuels and market-based measures.
The most significant measure already in place is the EU-Emissions Trading System which has included aviation within its scope since 2012. Reforms to implement a more ambitious approach to this system, agreed at EU level in 2023, will provide for the phasing out of free allowances to air operators, increasing the incentives on airline operators to reduce their emissions over time.
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