A message from Labour's Climate Spokesperson Ciaran Ahern TD - The Labour Party
Message from Ciarán Ahern, Labour’s Climate Spokesperson
This scorecard brings together a large body of evidence setting out how and why the Irish government is failing to protect our people, land, water, and air from climate change. Ireland’s failure is not because this is a problem without a solution. Our government knows what needs to be done and they aren’t doing it. They are choosing to fail.
We are failing to meet our targets for retrofitting homes, with only 18,765 heat pumps installed between 2018 and 2025, despite a target of having 400,000 installed by 2030.
We are failing to meet our targets for expanding transport options, with commercial bus journeys in fact declining between 2018 and 2024.
We are failing to meet our targets in expanding renewable energy, for example being projected to generate only 824MW in offshore wind energy by 2030, despite a target of 5GW.
We are failing to meet our targets for reduced emissions, with every sector with its own emissions ceiling set to exceed it: agriculture, industry, electricity, transport, residential built environment, commercial built environment, and other (F-gases, waste, and petroleum).
We are failing to meet our targets for planting trees, reducing food waste, and protecting our rivers and water sources. The list goes on.
The scale of failure comes as no surprise when placed in the context of what little action is being taken by the current government.
When Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil entered into a coalition with the Green Party in 2020, the resulting Programme for Government made 148 commitments related to the climate and environment in its Green New Deal section.
Six years on, 61% of these have still not been delivered, with many outright reneged on.
The government also ignored 78% (150 of 192) of priority recommendations on the environment and climate action made by the Climate Change Advisory Council, SEAI, the European Commission, and the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss.
Climate has completely disappeared off the agenda in other important areas of policy, like housing.
Ireland’s poor performance on climate action is not normal or acceptable, and stands out from our European peers, ranking in the bottom three among EU countries from emissions to renewables to recycling to biodiversity, and more besides.
The climate crisis is among the greatest existential threats humanity has ever faced. People are already losing homes, livelihoods, and their lives as we fight to overcome our dependence on fossil fuels, curb the rise in global temperatures, and prepare our communities for oncoming challenges. In this context, governments must demonstrate real commitment to accepting scientific evidence, following expert advice, and taking international obligations seriously. Climate action must be front and centre in politics, but instead it is being pushed further and further to the margins.