Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 November 2023
24. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Transport to provide an update on progress towards meeting the transport emissions reduction targets under the climate action plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52853/23]
View answerClimate Action Plan 2023 (CAP23) was the first statutory climate plan to incorporate both the economy-wide targets and legally binding sectoral emission ceilings, set by Government in July 2022. For transport, we are now obligated to pursue a decarbonisation pathway capable of achieving a 50% reduction in transport emissions by 2030, in a manner that is consistent with a sectoral emissions ceiling of 54 Mt for the first carbon budget period (2021-2025), and a sectoral emissions ceiling of 37?Mt over the second carbon budget period (2026-2030).
The design of the decarbonisation pathway for transport set out in CAP23, was premised on an ‘Avoid-Shift-Improve’ hierarchy for greater transport sustainability and has been informed by detailed transport modelling undertaken with the National Transport Authority.
The targets we have set out reflect the transformative scale of change required to deliver a 50% reduction by 2030, and include a 20% reduction in total vehicle kilometres travelled (relative to a 2030 ‘business-as-usual’ scenario), significant behavioural shifts in the level of daily active travel and public transport journeys, and reductions in the number of daily car journeys, alongside ambitious fleet electrification and renewable transport fuel usage targets.
At present, the cumulative emissions over the first two years of the carbon budget programme (22.6 MtCO2eq.) suggests that we are currently aligned to the required compliance pathway to 2025, with 41.9% of carbon budget 1 expended over the first two years, and 2022 emission levels were 4.5% lower than 2018 levels. However, we have seen year-on-year increases in transport emissions since the unwinding of Covid-19 travel restrictions, and though the rate of bounce-back now appears to be slowing, decoupling the direct correlation between transport emissions and wider social and economic activity remains the fundamental challenge for the sector - if it is to achieve its targets. A balanced combination of measures will be required in order to change long-established and systemic patterns and preferences in how and where we travel, and to address the multitude of potential influences on our transport decisions.
However, very encouraging progress is being made. Our latest figures show that there are over 107,373 electric vehicles currently on Irish roads (3.6% of the national fleet) which is on profile to meet our target of 175,000 private EVs by 2025. We have also witnessed a strong recovery in the rates of public transport usage since COVID-19, with an indicative 110% increase in mid-week patronage on public service obligation routes (PSO) over Q1 2022 levels.
Other key items of progress to note include:
• the launch of the ‘Your Journey Counts’ national advertising campaign;
• a 20% average fare reduction on PSO public transport services, the first such reduction in 75 years, to help combat the rising cost of living, and to encourage and facilitate greater uptake of our public transport services;
• Over 328,000 young adults and students have benefitted from a further 50% reduction in public transport costs since the introduction of the Young Adult Scheme on PSO services in May 2022 and in September 2022 on participating commercial services;
• the continued implementation of actions in our Sustainable Mobility Policy Action Plan and Pathfinder Programme;
• the progression of BusConnects, MetroLink and DART+ schemes through key decision gates in the planning system;
• the publication of new and revised metropolitan area transport strategies for Waterford, Limerick-Shannon and the Greater Dublin Area;
• the publication of regulations to increase the rate of bioethanol blending in line with our Renewable Transport Fuel Policy 2023-2025;
• increased delivery of active travel infrastructure across the country, supported by the publication of the Cycle Design Manual and public consultations to inform the ongoing development of an extensive cycling network across our National Cycle Network and CycleConnects infrastructure programmes; and
• the continued roll-out of the NTA’s Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Programme.
