Climate Action Plan will transform how we travel with decarbonisation creating a cleaner greener transport system

Minister for Transport, Climate, Environment & Communications Eamon Ryan TD has today launched the Climate Action Plan 2021 which sets out the pathway towards achieving a 51% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. The plan, which will be updated annually, outlines the steps required to enable a radical, equitable transformation in how we travel over the next nine years as we move towards a fully decarbonised transport sector.

The actions on transport focus on four key areas:

• Sustainable Mobility – helping people choose sustainable options and delivering 500,000 additional daily public transport and active travel journeys, a 14% increase.

• Electrification – accelerating the pace of EV take-up, almost 1 million EVs in the private transport fleet by 2030. Increasing public transport, including rail and bus electrification to reduce reliance on fossil fuelled transport.

• Demand management – introducing measures at national, regional and local level to manage travel demand more efficiently and reducing the remaining fossil fuelled car kms by approximately 10%.

• Increased biofuels mix - increasing the proportion of biofuels to a 20% blend for diesel and 10% for petrol, to reduce emissions from existing fleet.

Minister Eamon Ryan said: “This plan will transform how we travel, cutting emissions, and connecting our communities via better public transport both in urban and rural areas. By electrifying our transport system, we will move away from fossil fuels and also enjoy cleaner air.

“We are setting a significant target for Government, our transport agencies, our transport operators, our local authorities and our citizens. Implementation of this element of the Climate Action Plan will be challenging but essential if we are to meet our 51% target in 2030 and chart the course for carbon neutrality by 2050. Government will provide €35 billion in capital investment in transport over the decade as well as further annual supports to make this transition. I am especially pleased that the wider public sector will lead the way by mandating that all new vehicles from the end of 2022 be electric where possible.”

The transport sector represents about 18% of Ireland’s carbon emissions nationally with road transport and private car usage carrying the most significant carbon footprint. There are over 70 actions in the transport chapter of the plan, from delivering significant enhancements across public transport, active travel and EV charging infrastructure to developing strategies that will help drive behavioural change away from traditional fossil fuelled private car journeys to healthier, more sustainable mobility options.

Key Metrics By 2030:

• Reduction in emissions by 51%

• 945,000 EVs on the road

• 1500 Electric Buses by 2030

• 500,000 additional daily walking, cycling and public transport journeys

• 10% reduction in fossil fuelled car journeys

The revised National Development Plan will provide the financial supports to deliver much of the necessary infrastructure over the next decade. EU funding will also be sought to underpin many of the measures involved.

The Climate Action Plan will also ask the public to consider their own choices and to choose the sustainable mobility option first. It will seek over time to make these options accessible, attractive and affordable – and in the case of town and city planning, move away from car to people centric design.

Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton TD said: “Promoting clean, safer and more sustainable mobility is not only critical to our climate agenda, it also represents an opportunity to improve our health, boost the quality of our lives, address congestion in our towns and cities and better connect our rural, urban and suburban communities.

“Our goal as we move to implementation of this plan will be to ensure we minimise the impact of these changes on the most vulnerable in society and support Ireland’s economic well-being.”

Ends

Note to Editors

2022 Deliverables:

€3.4 billion budget allocation to help achieve cleaner, greener transport by 2030.

Investment in 2022 will support a wide range of sustainable mobility projects, including:

• 165 new electric buses for our cities, and 105 more buses for regional and local services;

• BusConnects, DART+ and MetroLink: all three projects will enter the planning system;

• A fully-electric town bus service operating in Athlone by the end of the year;

• Increased funding for the transition to electric vehicles including €60m for EV grants;

• Maintaining the Government’s commitment to investing €360 million per year to support walking and cycling projects nationwide including €60m for greenways; and

• The introduction of a new Young Adult Travel Card, offering a 50% discount on fares across the transport network for those age 19 to 23.