Ireland is going to overshoot its maximum allowed emissions of carbon dioxide by 10 million tonnes this year, the Climate Change Advisory Council has warned.
It means Ireland will fail to achieve the targeted emission reductions during the first Carbon Budget for the period 2021 to 2025.
Ireland could end up paying out up to €26 billion in “compliance costs” for failing to meet EU targets, the council says.
“Instead of the maximum emissions of 295 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2eq) set out in the Carbon Budget to 2025, we will overshoot by about 10 Mt CO2eq”, the climate council warns.
The excess CO2 pollution “will need to be paid back in the next Carbon Budget period” for the next five years, “making it increasingly difficult to achieve.”
The EU has warned Ireland about its high carbon dioxide emissions.
Ireland produces more greenhouse gas pollution per person than any other country in the European Union.
The climate council says Ireland is being held back by “our dependence on expensive, harmful fossil fuels, which were subsidised by €4.7bn of taxpayers’ money in 2024.”
The council also singled out transport emissions which remain “stubbornly high.”
The climate council is calling for the government to spend more on public transport and electric vehicles.
It is also urging local authorities to put in place low emission “decarbonisation zones”.
“These zones create momentum and deliver locally tailored solutions for households and businesses”, the climate council says.
“We need to redesign how we commute, heat homes, and power the economy”, says Marie Donnelly, Chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council.
“That means real investment in people, infrastructure, and communities, not more delay.”
“We have the opportunity and the resources to transform Ireland, both in terms of reducing emissions and preparing for future climate events. We must act now because if we don’t, we will pay the financial and societal price by losing out on secure and affordable energy, a healthier and more sustainable society, both today, and for future generations.”