Demand for 'urgent' emission reductions as UN issues stark warning on global warming
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Ireland has been warned it needs to be more "urgent" in emission-reduction targets, as the UN says there is now "no credible pathway" in place to limit global warming to 1.5C.
Launching its new strategy, industry lobby group Renewable Energy Ireland said there are still barriers to speeding up the transition to cleaner energy. It cited the likes of planning blockages and red tape for various heating schemes as examples of the lack of urgency.
The strategy was launched as the UN said updated national pledges since the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow last November made a negligible difference to predicted 2030 emissions.
The world is far from the Paris Agreement 2015 goal of limiting global warming to well below 2C, preferably 1.5C, the UN's latest report stated.
Despite the call for countries to strengthen 2030 targets, progress since Cop26 is highly inadequate, while global greenhouse gas emissions could set a new record in 2021, it found.
The top seven emitters — China, the EU, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Russia, and the US — plus international transport, accounted for 55% of global emissions in 2020.
Collectively, G20 members — 19 of the world's biggest economies plus the EU bloc — are responsible for 75%, the report added.
Executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Inger Andersen, said: “This report tells us, in cold scientific terms, what nature has been telling us all year through deadly floods, storms, and raging fires — we have to stop filling our atmosphere with greenhouse gases, and stop doing it fast.
At home, time is of the essence to meet our requirements, Renewable Energy Ireland said.
Chairwoman of the body, Tanya Harrington, said: “If Ireland is to meet its twin objectives of achieving energy security and net zero, we need to urgently remove the remaining barriers to the faster deployment of renewable energy.
"The strategy we have published outlines how we can achieve more clean, secure, and affordable energy for Ireland, but we know this can only be done by working together with policymakers, industry, and communities across Ireland."
In a range of recommendations, it called for laws to instruct State planning body An Bord Pleanála to prioritise planning applications for renewable energy and associated grid infrastructure, as well as more encouragement of electric vehicles, enhanced public transport, and cycling infrastructure, while "harnessing Ireland’s strengths" for sustainable biofuels and green hydrogen.
"With Ireland’s reliance on fossil fuels leaving us exposed to international geopolitical events, and record high energy prices driven by fossil fuels worsening the cost-of-living crisis, immediate policy action is required to reduce emissions across all sectors of the economy."
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