The council’s annual review has said that it will now require huge efforts for the country to meet its existing 2030 targets to combat climate change.
The review said national emissions reduced by 0.1 per cent from 2017 to 2018 largely due to progress in the electricity sector, while other sectors have failed to deliver reductions on the scale required.
We’re going to miss our 2020 target... despite significant emissions reductions, even with Covid, we haven’t quantified that but there will be significant reductions, maybe five, maybe ten per cent this year.
Chair of the council, Professor John Fitzgerald, said this year’s climate targets will not be met even with reductions in emissions due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown.
“We’re going to miss our 2020 target... despite significant emissions reductions, even with Covid, we haven’t quantified that but there will be significant reductions, maybe five, maybe ten per cent this year,” he said.
“That will have some knock-on effects next year obviously, depending on how long it takes before we get back to normal.”
Carbon tax
The council has recommended that Ireland’s carbon tax be increased to €35 from its current rate of €26 as one of the measures to help deliver long term emission reductions.
“People want to change. They believe climate change is important and we should all change, but it must also be profitable for them to change,” Prof Fitzgerald said.
“The proposal is that it should rise to €35 a tonne in the budget, and as in the programme for budget, should rise to €100 a tonne by 2030.”
It comes as Ireland is aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050.
