Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
178. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Transport the commitments made by Ireland under the remit of his Department at COP26 and COP27, respectively; the progress made to date on actioning those, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36883/23]
View answerI am pleased to set out the progress made across a range of transport commitments at COP26 and COP27:
|
COP: |
Commitment Given: |
Progress Achieved: |
|
COP26 |
The Minister for Transport signed a sponsored declaration to accelerate the transition to 100% zero emission cars and vans. |
Significant progress has been made in support of this goal: 94,709 BEVs and PHEVs are on the road as of the end of June 2023. The National EV Charging Infrastructure Strategy was launched in January 2023. Additionally, January 2023 saw the launch of the Shared Island Sports Club Scheme. This involves the installation of up to 200 EV destination in sports clubs across the island of Ireland. Grant schemes are in place for both zero-emission cars and vans to incentivise uptake. |
|
COP26 |
Ireland became a co-signatory to the Clydebank Declaration for green shipping corridors. The Declaration aims to support the establishment of at least six ‘green corridors’, which are specific trade routes between major port hubs where zero-emission solutions are supported, by the middle of this decade |
Department of Transport officials met with counterparts in the UK in March 2023 in relation to progressing Ireland’s commitments under the Clydebank Declaration. These commitments are under active consideration by the Department. |
|
COP27 |
Ireland became a signatory to the Global Memorandum of Understanding on Zero Emission Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles, which targets a new sales share of 30 percent for zero emission trucks and buses that are 3.5 tonnes or over by 2030. |
While it is early in the transition to electric for Medium and heavy-duty vehicles, progress is underway.
As of today, the National Transport Authority has purchased 151 battery-electric buses.
Furthermore, the Alternatively Fuelled Heavy-Duty Vehicle Grant Scheme has contributed funding towards the purchase of 15 fully electric trucks since 2021. |
|
COP27 |
Ireland committed to the implementation of cycling policies that have an impact on reducing CO2 emissions. |
The National Sustainable Mobility Policy, which was launched in 2022, incorporates an Active Mobility Policy. This includes a significant increase in funding – reaching €290m in Active Travel funding alone in 2023. This represents a sixfold increase on 2019 funding levels.
The current policy targets 1,000km of walking and cycling infrastructure by 2025, and over 600km was achieved by the end of 2022.
The Safe Routes to School programme will deliver safe walking and cycling infrastructure – including bike parking – to over 900 schools in the coming years.
Various behavioural change programmes are also ongoing including Smarter Travel, Green Schools and CycleRight cycle training.
Greenways projects funding outside urban centres has increased, now totalling €63 million in 2023. These encourage walking and cycling for tourism and recreation purposes as well as for active travel. |
