This week, the CCAC presented proposed carbon budgets to the government setting out the limits on greenhouse gas emissions for 5-year periods of time. The first carbon budget programme will comprise carbon budgets for the following periods: 2021-2025; 2026-2030 and 2031-2035, with the carbon budget for 2031-2035 being provisional.
The average year-on-year reductions in the first budget which runs until the end of 2025 has been set at just under 4.8 per cent, while the average year-on-year reductions in the second budget to 2030 is set at 8.3 per cent. A limit of 295 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent has been set on emissions for 2021-2025 and a 200 million tonnes CO2 limit for 2026-2030 relative to a 2018 baseline. The carbon budget for 2031-2035, which is provisional, is recommended at 151 million tonnes CO2.
The budgets are part of a roadmap of actions legislated for under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021. The Act commits Ireland to reach a legally-binding target of net-zero emissions no later than 2050, and a cut of 51 percent by 2030 (compared to 2018 levels).
Commenting on the programme, Marie Donnelly, Chair of the CCAC said:
“The proposed carbon budgets will have an impact on society and the economy but allow us to act on climate change in a planned and organised way. The budget is based on the best available science and defines an appropriate and necessary path to addressing the climate challenge. Many of the changes required now will only have a real impact on emissions in the second period. Now is the time to put policies and supports in place that will help those people, communities and businesses that will be impacted by the significant changes we need to make to how we live, work and travel.”
Noting the requirement for everyone in society to play their part, Ms Donnelly said “the carbon budgets provide a framework, but what is urgently required is transformative change which is led by all of Government on a sustained basis, supported by all sectors of the economy, and all members of society. This will require significant investment across the economy.”
The proposed carbon budgets will go to Government and then to the Oireachtas. The Oireachtas will review and approve the budgets within a 4-month period. Once these overall, economy-wide carbon budgets are approved, the Government will have the challenge of dividing the overall carbon budgets into sectoral emissions ceilings.
A sectoral emissions ceiling is the maximum amount of greenhouse gas emissions that are permitted in a sector of the economy during each 5-year carbon budget. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, in consultation with other relevant Ministers, will develop a sectoral emissions ceiling for each relevant sector within each 5-year budget, once the overall carbon budget has been adopted.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the CCAC will produce annual reports to inform monitoring of compliance with national and sectoral progress towards each carbon budget and sectoral emissions ceiling.
More information can be found at this link.
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