Climate Action Plan 2021: A Failure To Secure Our Future

Today the Irish Government has published its Climate Action Plan 2021 with the title “Securing Our Future”.

According to the document itself, it aims to “set a roadmap for taking decisive action to halve our emissions by 2030 and reach net zero no later than 2050, as we committed to in the Programme for Government.”

This article highlights the alarming lack of clarity and commitment contained within this plan, and the troubling issues raised in the section focused on electrifying transport.

Net Zero By 2050

Immediately alarm bells should be ringing loudly due to this phrase. Despite the executive summary of the Plan stating “the science is indisputable,” by reiterating a commitment to net-zero by 2050, they are already consigning millions of the planet’s citizens to death – and likely around a third of all plant and animal species to extinction by 2070.

The recent IPCC report, published in August 2021, clearly and repeatedly states that 2050 is simply too late, and that we must go beyond the paltry net-zero targets set by our Government:

It recognises the need for global equity, where the greatest emitters bare the greatest burden for change, and also seeks to protect those in both the domestic and international society who are already exposed to the greatest harm, and who often have the least means to mitigate the impact of the Climate Crisis.

While several pages are dedicated to the topic of a just transition in the Plan, they fail to establish who the most vulnerable people at home and abroad are, and instead focus on things like “skills development” – as seen during the Covid-19 pandemic, this Government is solely focused on protecting business above all else, not people. And this appears to also be true in the face of the Climate Crisis.

This is reinforced by the fact that a key agenda point for a just climate transition in the report is: “Establish a Just Transition Commission”.

Especially given Ireland’s considerably higher use of diesel vehicles, and a cultural preference for personal transport over public transit.

Vehicle Electrification

The transport section of the Climate Action Plan 2021 makes for very alarming reading.

The Government has consistently conflated fully-electric battery electric vehicles (BEVs) with hybrid vehicles – the latter still being wholly dependent on fossil fuels, and therefore still playing a fundamental role in worsening both public health and the Climate Crisis.

This can be clearly seen in Section 15.3.3 where the Plan states “There are currently over 45,000 EVs registered on Irish roads”.

This data is taken from a report by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and includes both the figures for BEVs and plug-in hybrids – remember that the latter are still reliant on burning fossil fuels, as well as the processes of extraction, refinement and transport that are associated with them.

Conflating the two demonstrates a clear lack of knowledge or a disinterest in addressing the issue. See our article Electric Not Electrified for more on this topic.

Considering that Ireland is due to ban the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles by 2030, you would hope that it wouldn’t just have a “focus on BEVs,” and that hybrids – which are internal combustion engine vehicles in disguise – would also be banned by this date.

The vagueness of this language is driven home by the line below relating to low-emissions vans “95,000 with a stronger focus on BEVs”.

This raises the question of what a “strong focus” actually looks like, and why the Irish Government is not willing to commit to supporting BEVs if it is serious about cutting greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector.

One again, this is reinforced by the vague promise to establish “a dedicated Office of Low Emitting Vehicles” with no timeline for when this Office will be implemented.

It is essential for a just transition in Ireland that the Government removes obstacles to BEV imports, and provides incentives to make them more affordable to the average person.

This will simultaneously overcome the only major obstacle to BEV adoption – upfront cost – and ensure that there is ample supply of affordable BEVs to meet the already significant demand.

Again, this is not mentioned at all.

If we do not make provision for affordable BEVs, we will face a near future where road transport emissions are not cut in line with the goals set out in the Paris Agreement.

Furthermore, the Irish Government will have also significantly worsened energy poverty across the country through necessary carbon tax increases, which will increase the price of fuel, without any viable alternative for lower-income people.

We are long past the time for plans and promises, we need action and we need action immediately. This Plan, and the Government of Ireland are not fit for purpose in the face of the Climate Crisis.