Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 February 2018
583. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the budget for climate action since 2016 in his Department; and the specific capital investment programmes that have been funded by his Department or other departments under climate action in each of these years. [9736/18]
View answerMy Department’s budgetary allocations relating to climate action measures in the period from 2016 to 2018 are set out in the table below.
|
Programme |
2016 € |
2017 € |
2018 € |
|
Sustainable Energy Programme |
69.2m |
98.3m |
134.1m |
|
Energy Research Programme |
10.6m |
7.6m |
9.3m |
|
Climate Initiatives |
1.25m |
2.1m |
3.9m |
|
Environmental Protection Agency |
24.9 m |
31.5m |
37.4m |
The sustainable energy programmes delivered by sustainable energy authority of Ireland support energy efficiency upgrades of residential, commercial and public building stock to accelerate the contribution of the built environment to the collective effort to reduce CO2 emissions. Funding is also provided for the roll-out of the new support scheme for renewable heat and the electric vehicle grant scheme, further supporting the transition to a low carbon economy.
Funding of energy research aims to support diversification away from fossil fuels to green energy, in turn facilitating the progressive decarbonisation of electricity generation. In the area of climate initiatives, technical research and modelling informs mitigation and adaptation policy formulation, while the new regional climate offices will support implementation of sectoral adaptation measures. Funding for the national dialogue on climate action aims to build citizen engagement to bring about the requisite societal transformation to address the challenges presented by climate change.
My Department also provides ongoing funding to the Environmental Protection Agency to allow it meet its legislative mandate and deliver its research commitments, in areas such as ambient air quality as well as the broader climate change agenda.
Within the framework of the Government's national mitigation plan, decisions relating to particular measures or investment programmes remain a matter, in the first instance, for the relevant sectoral Minister, while funding decisions will continue to be a matter for Government consideration in the context of expenditure planning in the Estimates and Budgetary processes.
The 2017 annual transition statement, which I laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas on 8 December last, provides an overview of cross-Government climate change mitigation and adaptation measures relating to the key sectoral areas of electricity generation, built environment, transport as well as the agriculture, forestry and land use. It outlines the objective for each measure, estimated mitigation potential and funding information, where available. The transition statement can be accessed at the following link: http://opac.oireachtas.ie/AWData/Library3/DCCAEdoclaid081217_154934.pdf
