Ireland is expected to cut total greenhouse gas emissions by up to 23 per cent by 2030 — significantly short of its national goal of a 51 per cent reduction, reports Breaking News.
Achieving the 23 per cent reduction would require the complete rollout of numerous policies and strategies across all sectors, each delivering the projected carbon cuts.
Both the first and second carbon budgets are forecast to be exceeded, with nearly all sectors on course to go beyond their assigned national emission limits for 2030, reports Breaking News.
The country is also projected to fall short of the EU Effort Sharing Regulation target of a 42 per cent cut by 2030, with a maximum decrease of only 22 per cent expected.
Emissions from the land use sector are forecast to rise by as much as 95 per cent, meaning Ireland is unlikely to fulfil its European obligations in this area, reports Breaking News.
This increase comes as more of Ireland’s forested land reaches harvesting age, shifting its role from absorbing carbon to releasing it.
Some proposed measures for the land sector — such as afforestation, managing water levels in organic soils used for farming, and restoring peatlands — are expected to help curb the overall rise in emissions, reports Breaking News.
EPA analysis shows that if all planned climate policies are carried out, Ireland could achieve up to a 23 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030, compared to 2018 levels — down from the 29 per cent projection made last year.
The growing gap between current projections and the 51 per cent reduction target in the Climate Act is attributed to new data shared by government bodies, reports Breaking News.
The report identified that the Transport, Industry, and Residential Buildings sectors are likely to exceed their 2030 emissions limits the most, with projected reductions of just 21 per cent, 12 per cent, and 22 per cent, respectively.
The Agriculture sector is expected to lower emissions by up to 16 per cent. However, a direct comparison to its emissions ceiling is no longer possible due to revised scientific methods used in calculating greenhouse gas levels in agriculture, reports Breaking News.
Speaking on the report, EPA Director General Laura Burke said: “The EPA’s projections show that full delivery of all climate action plans and policies could deliver a 23 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
“Although emissions trends are going in the right direction, the gaps to our European and National emission reduction targets are now projected to be larger than last year. This highlights the economy-wide effort needed to decarbonise our society and the focus must shift from policy aspiration to practical implementation,” reports Breaking News.
“As we get closer to 2030 and receive more information on the impact of agreed policies and measures, it is concerning to see projected reductions and lack of progress in the delivery of actions to reduce emissions including in the electrification of our transport sector and the expansion of renewable electricity powering our homes and businesses and the implementation of carbon reduction measures in agriculture,” reports Breaking News.
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