Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 January 2019
66. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he considered the findings and recommendations of a report (details supplied) on healthy diets and sustainable food systems in developing the plan on climate change. [3304/19]
View answerThe findings of the recently published Lancet Commission report, 'Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change', covers a range of policy areas that are currently being considered in the context of the All of Government Plan to Address Climate Disruption. Phasing out coal-fired power generation is a key recommendation, and this is currently already an action in the National Mitigation Plan and will be further advanced in the All of Government Plan. Encouraging a city-level low-carbon transition to reduce urban pollution is also being progressed in the context of measures in the transport sector, including actions to increase the numbers of electric vehicles in Ireland and further increase biofuel blends. The Lancet report calls for a rapid expansion of access to renewable energy, unlocking the substantial economic gains available from this transition. This is a critical policy area on which the Plan will focus considerable ambition and I anticipate that a significant scale-up in the penetration of renewables will feature in the Plan.
