Ambitious Climate Action Plan is statement on intent to tackle climate crisis – Farrell

The Climate Action Plan published today is a statement of intent that Ireland and the Government is committed to tackling the climate crisis, Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell has said.

Deputy Farrell, Fine Gael’s Climate Action Spokesperson said, “The publication of the Climate Action Plan is a seminal moment for Ireland. This plan will help plot our course forward in our fight against climate change.

“The Climate Action Bill sets out requirements for Ireland to become Net-Zero by 2050 and have reduced emissions by 51% by 2030.

“The Climate Action Plan has set out how each sector will need to change in order to comply with the carbon budgets which have been devised by the Climate Change Advisory Council, and builds on the work of Ireland’s first ever Climate Action Plan which was published in 2019 under Fine Gael.”

Deputy Farrell continued: “The Climate Action Plan will see the electrification of our public transport networks, including 1,500 electric buses by 2030 and a ramping up of apprenticeship places which will directly contribute to the nation’s retrofitting goals. It also includes goals for renewable electricity to account for 80% of supply by 2030 and reducing food waste by 50% by 2030.

“The plan also commits to ensuring all plastic packaging is recyclable or reusable by 2030; and we will see the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme in 2022.

“The long-term benefits of retrofitting, smart metering, heat pumps and the expansion of fossil free energy such as wind, tidal and solar; we will see cheaper energy bills for homes across Ireland. Energy costs have been rising in Europe in recent times and the Government is acting on this matter through tax and social welfare measures, including increases to the Fuel Allowance.

“The scale of the problem facing us can be, at times, overwhelming, but there is still hope. As we have seen so far at COP26, nations can come together to agree to make the changes that must be made.

“Ireland has made significant progress in its commitments to Climate Action, form fossil fuel divestment, a ban on fracking, to the development of a National Just Transition Fund. But there remains much work to do.”

Deputy Farrell added, “Climate Change will affect every living child and every child yet to be born. We must ensure they have a future to look forward to.”