Since my appointment as Minister I have secured Government approval to prepare an All of Government Plan which will set out the actions which must be taken to make Ireland a leader in responding to climate change. I will work with colleagues across Government to develop new initiatives in electricity, transport, heat, agriculture and other relevant sectors. The new plan will have a strong focus on implementation, including actions with specific timelines and steps needed to achieve each action, assigning clear lines of responsibility for delivery. The new plan will also be informed by successful approaches in other countries, where such approaches could be adapted for implementation in Ireland.
This plan will build on existing initiatives taken by the Government, including the National Mitigation Plan, published in 2017, and the National Development Plan (NDP), published earlier this year. The NDP provides for almost €22 billion for climate action, with an additional €8.6 billion committed to sustainable mobility.
A number of steps have already been taken to promote the development of low carbon alternatives in the transport sector, including providing a comprehensive package of supports to promote the uptake of electric vehicles, increasing the rate of the biofuels obligation, and approving the first round of applications under the €500 million Climate Action Fund. This first round of Climate Action Fund projects included a strong transport element, with provision of up to €10 million to continue the rollout of the electric vehicle charging network and a further €8.5 million to support the development of renewable gas infrastructure and vehicles.
