Ireland is facing the prospect of massive climate penalties for failing to reach green targets, the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) has warned.
Industrial emissions had been falling for the past four years, but are now projected to stagnate and rise toward the end of the decade, according to the CCAC’s analysis.
The climate watchdog now predicts that industrial emissions will have been cut by just over 11 percent by 2030 compared to 2018 levels, well short of the 35 percent reduction the government had planned.
Industry has already breached the sectoral target for the 2021–2025 period.
“The projections are a clear warning that the measures currently planned are not enough to deliver the change needed by the end of this decade,” said Jillian Mahon for the Climate Change Advisory Council.
“We need to remove the barriers that are slowing transition,” she urged.
The council warns that red tape is slowing down innovative solutions like low-carbon technologies and bio-methane production.
The report by the CCAC also reveals that Ireland’s circular economy is flatlining, with the country generating 16.7 million tonnes of waste in 2024.
Recycling rates have stagnated and more than one third of municipal waste is still being exported for final treatment abroad.
The council says that Ireland has “significant gaps” in its ability to manage its own waste.
Ireland now holds the second-lowest circular economy rate in the EU at just 2 percent, compared to the EU average of 12.2 percent.
“Ireland cannot be satisfied with having the second-lowest circularity rate in the EU,” Mahon urged.
“Reducing waste and making better use of the materials and resources already available to us can cut emissions, reduce our reliance on raw materials and build a more resilient economy.”