merrion street

The Minister for Communications Climate Action and Environment Eamon Ryan TD has welcomed the EU Commission president’s commitment to increase the EU-wide greenhouse gas emissions reduction target to at least 55% by 2030. The Government welcomes the increasing impetus and focus at EU level on climate action. This includes the vision set out in the Green Deal, published in December 2019, which aims to deliver net zero greenhouse gas emissions at EU level by 2050.

The Programme for Government sets out the Government’s commitment to an average 7% per annum reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions from 2021 to 2030 (a 51% reduction over the decade) and to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. The Climate Action (Amendment) Bill is being drafted as a priority, and is expected to be published shortly. The Bill will significantly strengthen the statutory framework for governance of the climate challenge in Ireland, establish a 2050 target into law and introduce a legal requirement for Government to adopt a successive series of three economy-wide carbon budgets and decarbonisation ranges for each relevant sector. By working in partnership with the EU we can achieve the radical transformation required across our economy and society to meet the challenge of climate change.