Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 4 November 2021
245. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport his vision for the future for enabling the transport sector to meet its obligations while complying with international agreements affecting the industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53913/21]
View answerMy vision for the transport sector is very much reflected in the Climate Action Plan 2021, which was launched by Government today. It sets out concrete actions to deliver on the overall objective of reducing transport emissions by 2030 in line with our national and international obligations.
The actions focus on four key areas:
- Sustainable Mobility – helping people choose sustainable options and delivering 500,000 additional daily public transport and active travel journeys - a 14% increase
- Electrification – accelerating the pace of EV take-up, almost 1 million EVs in the private transport fleet by 2030. Increasing public transport, including rail and bus electrification, to reduce reliance on fossil fuelled transport.
- Demand management – introducing measures at national, regional and local level to manage travel demand more efficiently and reducing the remaining fossil fuelled car kms by approximately 10%.
- Increased biofuels mix - increasing the proportion of biofuels to a 20% blend for diesel and 10% for petrol, to reduce emissions from existing fleet.
The recent revision of the National Development Plan (NDP) also aligns transport investment plans with climate objectives. Funding is being prioritised to encourage a shift from private cars to active and public transport options and to encourage greater take-up of EVs over the next ten years.
My Department will also publish a National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland (NIFTI) which sets out four strategic priorities for investment in land transport, one of which is decarbonisation. Investment proposals will be expected to demonstrate how, and how well, they align with one or more of these four high-level priorities.
When taken together, these plans, along with a wide range of Government supports, will enable the transport sector to meet its international obligations on climate change.
