The UK may dither over Brexit and have an endlessly fractious relationship with the EU, but it is now taking the lead on climate change. Can Ireland keep pace?It has become the first national parliament in the world to declare an “environmental and climate emergency”, and its powerful Committee on Climate Change , the government’s official climate adviser, last week published its advice on when – and how – the country should reach “net-zero” emissions.
The Irish Government is about to publish its major blueprint on how Ireland will respond to demands of the landmark Paris Agreement and scale up ambition with a view to becoming “a climate leader”. So how do our current plans and likely future stance compare with the UK’s ground-breaking moves?Net-zero emissions would mean the end of petrol and diesel cars and gas boilers; less meat on plates, the quadrupling of clean electricity generation and the planting of an estimated 1.5 billion trees.
If adopted, the CCC target would “fully meet the UK’s obligations under the Paris Agreement”, reaching net-zero some 20 years ahead of most other countries.We are currently on a trajectory that is worse than the global average. Current targets on emissions and renewable energy would not match the UK’s ambition. What’s more, overall Irish emissions are increasing, not decreasing as they are in the UK and most EU member states. Current global commitments would lead to 3 degrees of warming .
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Maybe if they taxed corporations correctly they would have lots capital to invest in renewables. There is no reason why Ireland could not be the greenest country in the world given our size and energy generating potential
Why do the govt spout such patent nonsense like becoming “a climate leader”, won't happen, even becoming global average may be a step too far for our dopey politicians.
left bollox, if you want to really “save the planet” tell the Africans to stop breeding like rabbits and stop artificially supporting their population