Final Climate Action Plan 2023 Progress Report shows 65% implementation of actions last year
- Published on: 6 March 2024
- Last updated on: 16 April 2025
The final progress report on the 2023 Climate Action Plan (CAP23), published this week (5 March), puts the overall implementation rate for the plan at 65%, with 188 of 290 actions set out for the year completed.
In total, 161 actions were scheduled for implementation and reporting in Quarter 4. Ninety six (96) of the Q4 actions were completed on time, resulting in a delivery rate for the quarter of 60%.
2023 was a key year for the climate globally with multiple sets of data confirming record-breaking weather and warnings about the imminent breach of the Paris Agreement's 1.5-degree target in the run up to COP28. While climate action in Ireland saw significant achievements in renewable energy, active travel, and funding, delivery rates of committed actions for the year were not equal to the actions set out in the Climate Action Plan. This creates challenges for legally binding EU and national emissions reduction targets, with the Q4 report calling for uncompleted CAP23 actions to be urgently delivered and challenges to climate action implementation to be dealt with.
In late 2023, Climate Action Plan 2024 was approved by Government, subject to Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment. A public consultation is now live and will close on 5 April. CAP24 builds on CAP23 by refining and updating the measures and actions required to deliver the carbon budgets and sectoral emissions ceilings.
For 2024, and building on work done in CAP23, the government’s Climate Action Plan is more focused on high impact actions and progress reports acknowledge new initiatives or significant steps towards achieving Ireland’s climate ambitions. In line with those principles, a legacy exercise on actions that were not completed during 2023 (approx. 100) was undertaken and published as part of the Q4 progress report. Delayed actions considered to be of higher impact will be retained for progress reporting in Q1 2024, and beyond, until they are completed, alongside any new CAP24 actions. This is important for accountability between successive annual Climate Action Plans.
Speaking on the Q4 Report, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said:
“The impact of climate change is being felt more strongly in Ireland and around the world than ever before. Unless the world changes course, the long-term impacts will be much more severe.
“We all need to take action: the government, communities, families and individuals. Each one of us can make a difference. At government level we are transforming every sector of the economy. This will help Ireland to play its part, but it’s also a good opportunity for our country too. It will mean warmer homes, cleaner air, fewer journeys, less time commuting, more remote and home working, more jobs and regional development.
“This fourth quarter report shows progress, but we need to try harder at government level to achieve all our goals, and I am confident that we will. By working together, we can create new jobs and opportunities, reach our climate goals, and help to secure the future of the planet on which we all live. This week at Cabinet we had two separate proposals to develop offshore wind in Ireland, and make Ireland a world leader in this growing sector. I am convinced that within one generation, Ireland will be energy independent.”
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said:
“The challenges faced by Ireland and the rest of the world when it comes to climate change are stark. Recent extreme weather events, such as the severe flooding last year, are proof that adaptation to the risks of climate change is needed right now for the protection of our communities and people.
“We are working to reduce our emissions to safeguard against the worst effects of climate change. An important element in this, as detailed in this progress report, is the retrofitting of our homes. We’ve seen homeowners respond positively to the record level of supports that Government has put in place to reduce emissions and create warmer, more comfortable homes that are much cheaper to heat.
“We must also invest in communities overseas. Climate change is a leading cause of migration, loss and damage for people across the globe. Climate action is one of four priority areas identified in A Better World, Ireland’s policy for international development. Ireland is committed to enhancing its contribution to the most vulnerable communities in the poorest countries to help in their efforts to tackle this shared threat.”
Minister Eamon Ryan said:
“This progress report for 2023 tells us two things. It tells us that we are making progress across many of our targets, but it also tells us that we have to move at even greater speed and at greater scale right across Government if we are to achieve our climate ambitions and if we are to protect our country and our citizens from the worst impacts of climate change. There can be no room for complacency as we push to deliver on high impact projects as part of our 2024 climate plan.
“There were many highlights over 2023 and the last quarter of the year. In energy particularly, we are making significant strides. The gains made in the generation of renewable energy at home, and across the globe, shows that the shift that needs to happen from fossil fuels to renewables can and will be achieved.
“There are encouraging indications that our emissions from electricity will reduce by about 25% in 2023 and that our overall emissions could reduce by about 5%. These are encouraging signs in a country that continues to have a booming economy and an increasing population.
“Reducing emissions from travel will remain a key focus for the coming year. In 2023, public transport passenger numbers increased by 25%, with an explosion in rural transport numbers particularly, with unprecedented weekly improvements in public transport services and active travel infrastructure. We know that making changes in this sector will result in really significant emissions savings but importantly, it will transform our towns and villages by making them safer and cleaner.
“We are also seeing encouraging green shoots in agriculture. Fertiliser use is down by 27% and one in three of our farmers (46,000 out of 135,000 farmers) has signed up for ACRES – the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme. Farmers are on the frontline of climate action and we want to protect and support our family farms, providing more reliable and diverse forms of income from quality food production, forestry, and renewable energy for example.”
Notes
Climate Action Plan 2023
The Climate Action Plan 2023, launched in December 2022, was 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 followed on from the introduction, in 2022, of economy-wide carbon budgets and sectoral emissions ceilings.
The plan detailed 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
CAP23 Q4 Progress Report
An Annex of Actions to support delivery of CAP23 was published on 7 March 2023. This is the fourth Progress Report on the actions outlined in the Annex that were due for delivery and reporting in Q4 2023.
As with the Q1, Q2 and Q3 2023 Progress Reports, progress reporting by the Department of the Taoiseach on CAP23 is largely confined to new initiatives or significant steps towards achieving the government’s climate ambitions.
High-impact actions completed this quarter include:
- accelerating the delivery of rural public transport services
- publishing a public consultation on private wires for electricity
- providing a record budget allocation for SEAI retrofit schemes
- completing first draft of new National Adaptation Framework
- accelerating delivery of green skills apprenticeships
- commencing the ‘Solar for Schools’ Programme
High-impact actions delayed this quarter include:
- developing a proposal for a cow reduction or an exit scheme
- publishing the Renewable Electricity Spatial Policy Framework
- finalising a National Heat Policy Statement
- launching a new retrofit scheme for SMEs
- preparing a decarbonisation roadmap for industrial heat
- developing proposals on how individual sectors could bear any European Union (EU) compliance costs
Climate Action Plan 2024
In late 2023, Climate Action Plan 2024 was approved by Government, subject to Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment.
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