Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 March 2021
195. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the progress to date in achieving targets as set out in the Climate Action Plan 2019 with particular reference to the decarbonisation of the energy sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13227/21]
View answerThe EU Effort Sharing Regulation EU/2018/842 (ESR) established binding annual greenhouse gas emission targets for Member States for the period 2021–2030. These targets concern sectors outside of the EU Emissions Trading System, such as agriculture, transport, buildings and waste. The ESR sets Ireland a target of a 30% reduction in emissions by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. The policies and measures in Climate Action Plan 2019 are designed to ensure that Ireland meets this target. Within the Climate Action Plan there are specific targets for the energy sector to meet. The Climate Action Plan set ambitious targets to retrofit 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating of B2/cost optimal and to install 400,000 heat pumps in existing buildings over the next 10 years. The development of the National Retrofit Programme to achieve these targets is well underway. €221.5 million in capital funding has been provided this year for SEAI residential and community retrofit programmes. This represents an 82% increase on the 2020 allocation and is the largest amount ever for the schemes. This allocation has facilitated the expansion and improvement of existing SEAI grant schemes and the introduction of new initiatives. The funding has already supported calls for projects under the new National Retrofit (One-Stop-Shop Development) Scheme and the Community Energy Grant Scheme, as well as a €47 million increase in funding for energy poverty schemes. Further SEAI administered retrofit initiatives will be launched in the coming months. The Climate Action Plan also sets a target for 70% renewable electricity by 2030. The Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI) published their Energy in Ireland report in December 2020, which is available at www.seai.ie. The report shows that the share of electricity generated by renewables was 37.6% in 2019, up from 33.0% in 2018. Wind was the largest share of renewable electricity at 32% with hydro at 2.8% and other renewables including biomass at 2.7%. The European Green Deal commits to delivering net zero greenhouse gas emissions at EU level by 2050 and increasing the EU-wide emissions reduction target from 40% to up to at least 55% by 2030, to align with the goal of the Paris Agreement limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Ireland fully supports the enhanced ambition at EU level. This ambition aligns with our Programme for Government commitment to an average 7% per annum reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions from 2021 to 2030 (a 51% reduction over the decade) and to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Work is currently underway across Government through the development of a new Climate Action Plan for 2021. This plan will include additional policies and measures in every sector to bring about the significant changes needed to transform our society. Furthermore, the Government is undertaking a review of the National Development Plan (NDP), which will look at the necessary capital investment in areas such as energy, transport and the built environment to support delivery of the Programme for Government commitment.
