'Serious rethink' needed if Ireland is to meet climate targets
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Radical action and a “serious rethink” are now needed if Ireland is to meet its climate targets, experts say, as new figures show greenhouse gas emissions dropped by just 1.9% last year.
The Government will further revise its climate plans, with emissions needing to fall at a faster rate, Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said.
“We do need to see our emissions fall at an even faster rate — but this [1.9%] decrease remains a significant achievement given our expanding economy and our growing population,” Mr Ryan said.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s 2022 greenhouse gas emission figures for Ireland showed power generation emissions decreased by 1.8% overall. Coal use dropped 16%, oil use was down by 29% and peat decreased by 25%, but an increase in burning natural gas offset some of these reductions.
Renewable energy generated 38.6% of electricity last year — an increase of more than 3% from 2021.
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Agriculture emissions decreased by 1.2%, driven by reduced fertiliser use which offset the impact of an increase in livestock numbers.
Residential emissions fell by 12.7%, due to higher fuel prices, new regulations that ban smoky fuel and milder weather.
But transport emissions increased by 6% in 2022 as the covid rebound continued.
Ireland is now facing “extremely challenging” emissions reductions targets of 12.4% annually for the next three years, the EPA warned.
Chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council Marie Donnelly said while she welcomed the drop in emissions, the State was not on track to hit its targets.
Ms Donnelly welcomed the improvement within the residential buildings sector, saying benefits were being seen through retrofitting of homes and the reduction in use of home heating fuels.
“Emissions levels in this sector also respond to temporary factors such as weather conditions and energy prices and it is vital that the implementation of policy protects the most vulnerable from this volatility,” Ms Donnelly said.
Associate vice-president of sustainability at University College Cork Professor Brian Ó Gallachóir said Ireland needs a “serious rethink” if we are to meet our emissions targets.
"While momentum is clearly growing on climate action, we are far from where we need to be to meet our statutory [emissions] targets," he said.
"This goes well beyond the question of how much do we reduce livestock numbers. It extends to how much we reduce car numbers, what type of businesses do we not allow, and how we discuss reducing consumption in an unequal society, amongst many other questions."
Friends of the Earth also called for radical action from Government.
“It is a relief to see that Ireland’s climate-changing pollution fell in 2022 but it was only a dip and not yet the dramatic reductions we need to see,” Friends of the Earth chief executive, Oisín Coghlan said.
“It is good to see that policy change can actually cut pollution, with the impact of the much-discussed smoky fuels ban evident in the EPA figures.
“But this is just one year and not yet a trend. The Government needs to make sure the gains made here are not reversed."
Stop Climate Chaos has called for a “drive to zero”.
“The figures throw into stark relief the job that Ireland has ahead of us to do our fair share and get our polluting emissions down to net zero," Stop Climate Chaos coordinator Sadhbh O’Neill said.
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