It is imperative for all those living outside our cities that there is a clear roadmap on how we can practically achieve the 51% national emissions reduction target for 2030 or else blunt policy instruments will be used that disproportionately impact on those living in our towns, villages, and rural areas, local Independent Deputy, Denis Naughten, stated this week.
“We have already seen the impact of carbon tax which hits families outside our cities far harder, where there are no alternatives to the use of the car. We will be facing more of these types of measures unless we get a clear roadmap out to 2030, now.
“The reality is that right across each of the emission sectors we are now seeking monumental change over the next 89 months, a rate of change that has not been achieved anywhere on our planet. This can only be realistically achieved through the development of innovative solutions to address Ireland’s unique challenges.
“The fact that 37% of our population live in isolated rural areas and are reliant to such a huge extent on solid and oil-fired central heating are examples of these unique challenges. The National Broadband Plan will help to reduce transport emissions within these communities, but this can only be achieved through positive supports for remote working.
“And by delivering high speed broadband to these homes quicker we could make this transition to a more sustainable planet happen faster.
“Many families will now be encouraged to replace their existing heating system, but we also need to look in the short term at ways to make our existing oil-fired systems far cleaner from an environmental perspective.
“To achieve this, we need to encourage the development of innovative solutions to help fast-track the delivery of some of the goals set out in the sectoral targets and I firmly believe that this should be encouraged by re-purposing the climate action fund.
“The €500 million Government climate action fund was designed to offer the innovation needed to provide fossil fuel alternatives in an Irish context, but it is instead being raided to replace other Government co-financing commitments.
“While initially the fund was also used to progress flagship projects to implementation, it must now be primarily focused on its initial goal of stimulating innovative solutions to drive down Ireland’s emissions,” Deputy Naughten asserted.
The Independent Deputy stated that it was not possible to achieve an overall 51% emission reduction by 2030 using existing technology with the need for innovative solutions that can specifically address the unique climate challenges facing Irish society.
“Now that the targets have been set by Government, we need to double our efforts to achieve them, and the sectors involved need new tools to add to the existing ones if they are to achieve these goals by 2030.
“Furthermore, Government must assure the farming sector that if the other sectors fail to achieve their targets then farmers will not be faced with an even bigger ask that a 25% cut.
“While I accept that many within the agriculture sector will be disappointed with the 25% target set for it, my real fear is that regardless of the individual targets set for each sector, if there is a failure to achieve that sectoral target by 2030, then a greater level of the overall ask will be placed on agriculture and food production, regardless of the initial target signed off by Cabinet.
“The sad reality is that agriculture is potentially the ‘soft touch’ because if other sectors fail to achieve their targets then there may be a further ask put to farmers that would involve a cull of the national herd towards the end of this decade.
“It is therefore imperative that Government provides an assurance to farm families that they will not be asked to go beyond the 25% cut in emissions if others fail to achieve their own sectoral target”
“The best way to ensure that this doesn’t happen is for a clear roadmap to be set out on how we can practically achieve the 51% national emissions reduction target for 2030 across each sector,” Deputy Naughten concluded.
