Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 November 2020
239. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications the steps taken to achieve emission reduction targets to date; the extent to which he can minimise the impact in food production related employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35409/20]
View answerIn relation to Ireland's existing 2030 EU target to reduce greenhouse gases in the non-Emissions Trading System sector by 30%, the Climate Action Plan 2019 sets out the policies and measures to achieve this. A range of key actions have been delivered to achieve emission reduction targets for Ireland. Key actions delivered include: Publication of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2020
Approval of the results of the first renewable electricity auction by Government in September 2020, consisting of 497MW of onshore wind energy projects and 796MW of solar energy projects
Provision in Budget 2021 of €221.5 million in capital funding for residential and community retrofit programmes next year to be funded by my Department. This represents an additional €100 million, or an 82% increase, on the 2020 allocation, and is the largest amount ever provided in the Budget for these schemes
Launch of a Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy
The passage of legislation, which guarantees income over the next 7 years of at least €500million to the Climate Action Fund
Publication of the Just Transition Commissioners Progress Report and the launch of a Just Transition Fund call
The European Commission has just presented its plan to increase its ambition to reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, from its existing target of 40% to at least 55%, compared to 1990 levels. This level of ambition for the next decade will put the EU on a balanced pathway to reaching climate neutrality by 2050. It is intended that the 2030 target will be enshrined in the EU Climate Law. Legislative proposals to implement the new EU 2030 target will be presented by June 2021, and additional effort will be asked of all Member States, including Ireland.
These developments at EU level, along with the step change in climate ambition set out in the Programme for Government, will need to be reflected appropriately in the next iteration of the Climate Action Plan. This will be challenging and will require fundamental changes in all parts of Irish life, but I believe Ireland can and will rise to the challenge. In setting out on this transformation of our society, the Government is committed to working with communities and sectors in designing and delivering a pathway to decarbonisation that is fair.
Far reaching policy changes will be developed across every sector, including agriculture:
- Building on Ireland's relative carbon efficiency in food production and ensuring the delivery of the measures identified by Teagasc to the fullest extent possible.
- Transforming the scale of organic farming, with delivery of a fair price for farmers at its heart.
- Developing a new strategy to expand afforestation, particularly Close to Nature Forestry and agro-forestry.
- Rapidly evaluating the potential role of sustainable bioenergy.
- Introducing a transformational programme of research and development, to ensure Ireland is at the cutting edge of scientific and technological innovation, including in: the bioeconomy; marine sequestration; improving agriculture breeding programmes; feed additives to reduce biogenic methane; agroforestry, paludiculture; and nutrient management.
Land-use offers significant potential to sequester additional carbon and provide a new source of family farm income and rural economic benefit. While the achievement of such improvements is not addressed in current EU policy, the Programme for Government commits to seeking to incentivise land use in the European Green Deal and broader EU policy. It also commits to evaluating, within 24 months, the potential contributions towards our climate ambition from land-use improvements and set in train the development of a land-use plan, based on these findings.
It is important that the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) protects farm incomes and sectoral supports consistent these objectives, and the National Economic Plan frontloads investment that is directly aligned with our climate ambition. The Programme for Government has also committed to allocating €1.5 billion, of the hypothecated additional carbon tax revenue, to a REPS-2 programme to encourage and incentivise farmers to farm in a greener and more sustainable way. This funding will be additional to funding from the CAP. It will include incentives to plant native forestry and to enhance and support biodiversity.
