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Press release

Almost 80% of actions under Climate Action Plan completed, but upward emissions trend continues

  • 2022 was Ireland’s hottest year on record, according to Met Éireann
  • temperatures in Europe increasing by more than twice the global average, highlighting scale of challenge
  • Ireland making big progress in many areas including transport electrification, renewables, circular economy and peatland rehabilitation, but faster completion of high impact actions needed

The fourth and final Progress Report of the 2021 Climate Action Plan has been published, with a final overall implementation rate of 79%, or 760 measures out of 965 completed for the four quarters of 2022.

The Q4 progress report also details delivery rates for Q4 alone (64%), and summarises progress on delayed measures from previous quarters.

The report is published as Ireland and Europe continued to feel the effects of climate change with unseasonable temperatures and weather events throughout the year.

The report highlights some important actions completed in Quarter 4:

  • Ireland’s first offshore renewable energy auction commenced, and a consultation on the design of our third onshore auction was launched
  • Ireland’s first all-electric bus service was launched in Athlone, representing a huge milestone in transforming how we travel
  • restoration measures on six raised bog sites covering an area of over 300 hectares were carried out
  • 4,550 green skills training places were provided, with 60,000 modules made available to learners through the SOLAS Green Skills programme
  • a new Deposit and Return Scheme for plastic bottles and aluminium cans was launched to incentivise waste reduction and promote the circular economy

Other climate achievements in 2022 include:

  • a new SEAI National Retrofit Scheme was launched, with retrofitting undertaken in over 27,000 homes
  • Ireland put more renewables on the grid than ever before. Ireland is now at over 5 GW of onshore renewables, with an additional 688 MW connected in 2022
  • Phase 2 of BusConnects Dublin was rolled out, enhancing the frequency and routes of local bus services
  • targeted social welfare measures were put in place using revenue raised from the carbon tax
  • Climate Enterprise Action Fund and the Climate Toolkit 4 Business were launched to support business climate action
  • the draft Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan was submitted to the EU, detailing desired income supports and plans for farmers in Ireland to reduce emissions
  • a new agri-environment scheme was launched that encourages the planting of small areas of native trees on farms
  • historic carbon budgets and sectoral emissions targets for Ireland’s main economic sectors were agreed

Despite progress on these transformational measures, data from the SEAI indicate an upward trend of energy-related emissions. This was due to a number of factors, including increased fossil fuel use in electricity generation arising partly from the war in Ukraine, increased transport and energy emissions following Ireland’s emergence from COVID restrictions and a persistent coupling of economic activity with greenhouse gas emissions.

In this context, any implementation delays from the 2021 Climate Action Plan have significant consequences for our ability to meet legally binding carbon budgets and Sectoral Emission Ceilings.

Speaking on the final 2021 Progress Report, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said:

“The climate crisis is unlike other challenges we have faced. It requires a rethink of how we work, travel, use our land and source our energy. In short, system change. Ireland is facing up to that generational challenge.

“I am heartened by some of the progress made in our 2021 Climate Action Plan, but we need to accelerate our work in this area and move much more quickly to implement agreed climate actions across all sectors.

“This is a moment of real opportunity. We can ensure warmer homes, cleaner air, fewer journeys, less time commuting, more remote and home working, more jobs and regional development. The 2023 Climate Action Plan will help us to achieve this and bring about new income, employment and investment opportunities.

“We must all work together to create a sustainable future. We must be the generation that turns the tide on climate change and biodiversity loss and leave the planet to the next generation in a better condition than we inherited it.”

Tánaiste Micheál Martin said:

“The climate crisis is changing the world around us, and these effects are hugely evident here in Ireland and across the continent. We must act faster to address this, not only to achieve our international targets and our national legally-binding commitments, but to improve our prospects and quality of life. We have no time to lose, for Ireland and for the planet."

Minister Eamon Ryan said:

"The 2021 Climate Action Plan demonstrates that we are making steady progress, but the scale of the climate crisis means that we need to continue to respond this year and over following years with even more urgency, more innovation and more collaboration and partnership to ensure that climate action makes people’s lives, not just more sustainable, but better and more viable. The changes we have to make are significant but the opportunities and benefits are also significant. We have to implement these changes in a way that is both fair and equitable; every sector, every place and every person matters in this transition.”

Notes

Climate Action Plan 2021 Q4 Progress Report

This is the final Progress Report on the Climate Action Plan (CAP) 2021, detailing progress on the delivery of measures due for reporting in Q4 2022. The report is organised into sectoral chapters, in order of emissions impact, with detail given on key emissions trends and high impact sectoral measures completed and delayed this quarter. The progress of all measures due in Q4 is included in the report for full transparency and accountability.

Overall, a completion rate of 64% is reported for Q4 2022, with 165 of 257 new measures completed on time. The progress of measures delayed from previous quarters is also reported, with just 32% of the 166 delayed measures completed despite the extra time gained for implementation. The overall implementation rate of the CAP 21 (combining delivery from Q4 2021 to Q4 2022) now concludes at 79%, with 760 of 965 measures completed.

Climate Action Plan 2023

The Climate Action Plan 2023, launched in December 2022, is the second annual update of its kind and the first to be prepared under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021. It follows on from the introduction, in 2022, of economy-wide carbon budgets and sectoral emissions ceilings.

The plan details actions across a number of areas, including six vital, high-impact sectors:

  • powering renewables
  • building better
  • transforming how we travel
  • making family farms more sustainable
  • greening business and enterprise
  • changing our land use

The Climate Action Plan 2023 Annex of Actions is due to be published by Government soon, detailing actions under the new Plan.

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