Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 June 2015
823. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on The Earth Statement, made in April 2015 by the 17 leading scientists and economists who make up the Earth League, that 75% of known fossil fuel reserves must be kept in the ground if global warming is to be kept within 2° Celsius; Ireland's position on this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23336/15]
View answerThe Earth Statement referred to by the Deputy outlines what the Earth League, an alliance of scientists, sees as essential elements to be achieved as part of the international climate agreement in Paris in December (COP21). Issues around climate change are primarily a matter for my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. As regards energy, it is acknowledged that fossil fuels will remain part of the energy mix as Europe transitions to a decarbonised energy system by 2050. However, significant progress is being made in increasing the share of renewables in that mix. The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020 and in order to meet this target, Ireland is committed to meeting 40% of electricity demand from renewable sources, 12% renewables in the heating sector and 10% in transport. Ireland has made good progress with regard to renewable energy deployment. To date, wind energy has been the largest driver of growth in renewable electricity. Provisional figures provided by the SEAI for 2014 show that 8.6% of Ireland's overall energy requirement was met by renewable energy. In addition, SEAI has calculated that 22.6% of electricity, 6.7% of heat and 5.2% of transport were met from renewable sources.
With regard to 2030, at the October 2014 meeting of the European Council, agreement was reached on the headline targets for the 2030 Climate and Energy Framework, requiring a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 40%, an increase in EU energy from renewable sources to 27%, and an indicative target of 27% energy efficiency. Ireland will make a contribution to the achievement of these targets that is technically feasible, cost effective and fair in terms of burden sharing across Member States.
