Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 May 2021
196. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the status of Ireland’s Nationally Determined Contribution to the EU as part of the Paris Climate Agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25691/21]
View answerThe EU aims to be climate-neutral by 2050. This objective is at the heart of the European Green Deal and in line with the EU’s commitment to global climate action under the Paris Agreement. The EU and its Member States, acting jointly, submitted an updated NDC on 17 December 2020, which confirmed commitment to a binding target of a net domestic reduction of at least 55% in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990. 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 both the 2030 and 2050 targets 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.
Ireland fully supports the enhanced ambition at EU level to increase the EU 2030 target to at least 55% emissions reduction as set out in the Commission’s EU 2030 Climate Target Plan, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To this end, Ireland is one of 12 countries who have signed a joint statement ahead of the European Council in October on strengthening EU climate ambition and agreeing on increasing the 2030 climate target to “at least 55 percent” this year.
The Programme for Government sets out significant increased climate ambition for Ireland, committing to an average 7% per annum reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions from 2021 to 2030 and to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, the latter being consistent with the EU 2050 ambition. The next iteration of the Climate Action Plan will set out, on an economy-wide basis, how the 2030 ambition in the Programme for Government might be achieved. The Plan will also need to ensure that Ireland meets its contribution to any increased ambition in a revised Effort Sharing Regulation, the EU framework which sets Member States’ emissions reduction targets for 2030.
