Ryan signals no change in sectoral ceiling for greenhouse gases

The Government will not go above the range of sectoral cuts set out by the Climate Change Advisory Council despite an alarming increase in emissions last year, Minister for Climate Eamon Ryan has said.

However, he said that the country must act swiftly because the world was burning and to do otherwise would be “collective suicide”.

Mr Ryan said real action over the next two to 2½ years was crucial if the State was to meet its target to cut emissions by 51 per cent by 2030.

Responding to the latest Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report, which said Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions increased by almost 5 per cent in 2021, the Green Party leader said authorities here would have to move more quickly and faster if Ireland is to achieve its goal of halving emissions.

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He was asked if cuts needed to be greater than the upper limits for each sector set out by the advisory council for the first two carbon budgets. For example, cuts in the agriculture sector will need to be between 22 per cent and 30 per cent until 2030.

[ Rising emissions will mean deeper cuts required, Government told ]

“We’ve agreed on the range and we just won’t go outside of those ranges,” Mr Ryan said. “I said no sector is left out, but no sector is going to get all the blame either. It won’t work if we’re pointing the finger saying, ‘you are the problem’. We all collectively have to play our part.”

Mr Ryan said the figures confirmed that the “planet is burning” and everybody was at risk. He said by not doing enough in 2021 meant society had to do more in the coming years.

Agriculture emissions increase

There was a marked increase in transport emissions, as well as in agriculture, which increased by a further 3 per cent last year, driven by the use of synthetic fertilisers as well as an increase in dairy cow numbers.

Asked about the very slow process of implementation in the State he agreed it needed to be overcome and said most of the big projects needed to be up and running within 2½ years if there was to be any chance of meeting targets.

“My focus is on what we can do in the next 2½ years. And if we can really kick [projects] in the next 2½ years, then towards the latter part of this decade, we’ll see those numbers fall. If we make the right decisions now we will see our emissions falling dramatically towards the latter part of this decade,” he said.

Mr Ryan was speaking as he announced the department’s zero emissions vehicles Ireland, a new office to oversee the transition to 945,000 electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030.

Meanwhile, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said climate targets will be “very, very difficult” to reach but with new technologies and a more rapid development of wind energy, Ireland can achieve the 50 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Mr Martin said that increased coal burning because of international energy shortages would create “short-term challenges” but that the Government’s increased focus on renewable energy “will redress that within the decade and beyond the decade”.

We need to get a stronger coreleation between targets and delivery,” Mr Martin told journalists in Sinngapore. “We’ve got to focus on delivery of targets that have been set . . . We need to change the dial there in terms of emissions.”

“I think fundamentally we are going through a shift in how we’re approaching climate change but the impact of the shift is going to take a bit more time to embed itself in our society,” he said.

Asked if he accepted it was unlikely that Ireland would reach its 50 per cent reduction target by 2030, Mr Martin said: “That’s a long, long time as we know. I do believe with new technologies coming on stream, different practices, different approaches that we can reach those targets but they will be very, very difficult to reach.”

“We do need to look at accelerating wind energy in the country as a key way of bringing about the change that we require,” Mr Martin said, adding that an acceleration in the use of electric vehicles was also necessary.

Mr Martin ruled out a moratorium on data centres, but said the Government would shortly be publishing a policy statement on the issue.

On differences between Coalition parties on the contribution to be made by agriculture, Mr Ryan said that he and Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue had agreed that the process needed momentum.

“We need to make sure that every farmer knows this is where the world is going and knows that they will play their part and get a good income from it.”

The Irish Farmers’ Association said the EPA emissions figures for agriculture reflect decisions made by farmers based on Government policy following the abolition of milk quotas when they were urged to expand. But it said farmers were committed to doing their share to reduce emissions by 22 per cent.

The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association said “farmers are not the demons they are being portrayed as”. And the organisation expected agricultural emissions figures for 2022 would decline due to lower fertiliser sales and growth in low-emission slurry spreading,