Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 July 2017
1114. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the details of estimates of the cost to the State of missing our 2020 targets in transport for renewables and emissions reductions targets. [34810/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, the responsibility for emissions reduction is a collective one and Ireland's emission targets are national and not sectoral by nature. It is clear, however, that Transport has an important role to play in reducing the national emissions profile.
The legislative framework governing the EU's 2020 emissions reductions targets includes a number of flexibility mechanisms to enable Member States to meet their annual emissions targets, including provisions to bank any excess allowances to future years and to trade allowances between Member States. Using our banked emissions from the period to 2015, Ireland is projected to comply with its emission reduction targets in each of the years 2013 to 2018. However, our cumulative emissions are expected to exceed targets for 2019 and 2020, which will result in a requirement to purchase additional allowances. While this purchasing requirement is not, at this stage, expected to be significant, further analysis will be required to quantify the likely costs involved, in light of the final amount and price of allowances required.
The EU Renewable Energy Directive set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy demand from renewable sources by 2020. Ireland is committed to achieving this national target through meeting 40% of electricity demand, 12% of heat and 10% of transport from renewable sources of energy. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has calculated that 9.1% of Ireland's overall energy requirements in 2015 were met from renewable sources and 5.7% of transport energy demand. The SEAI analysis also estimated that this avoided over €286 million of fossil fuel imports. Similar to most other Member States, Ireland has sought to increase renewable energy in the transport sector primarily through the use of sustainable biofuels alongside a contribution arising from electric vehicles.
In a document entitled Ireland’s Energy Targets – Progress, Ambition and Impacts (published in April 2016) the SEAI estimated that the cost to Ireland of not meeting our overall renewable energy targets may be in the range of €65 million to €130 million for each percentage point Ireland falls short of the overall 16% renewable energy target.
