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A new report noted that Ireland has ‘turned a corner’ in its climate commitments, but also said the existing pledges are not enough to meet international climate targets.
The Irish Government has been given a B- overall grade by a team of independent experts who have analysed the country’s climate progress, but they caution that more work needs to be done.
The report card – commissioned by Friends of the Earth – is the last of four assessments made to gauge the Government’s progress on its various climate commitments. The experts gave marks in nine areas, including climate, air quality, transport, energy, and agriculture and forestry.
The latest result marks the highest grade achieved by the current coalition Government in the last four years, and is up from a C+ grade last year.The Government just scraped the B- result but the independent experts acknowledged that Ireland has “turned a corner”.
They were, however, critical of the goals set out by this Government to begin with, arguing that the Programme for Government commitments were “not enough to achieve a truly sustainable society or meet our national and international climate targets”. This mirrors similar statements made by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Areas to improve
The report gave Ireland high marks in areas such as waste and the circular economy, air quality, energy, buildings, and nature and biodiversity. These areas were all marked seven out of 10 or higher.
The lowest areas were water and marine, and agriculture and forestry – both of these sectors received a five out of 10 mark. The climate and transport sections were both marked 6.5 out of 10.
Dr Diarmuid Torney, an associate professor at Dublin City University and one of the independent experts, said the new grade reflects climate improvements across a range of areas but added that Ireland “shouldn’t be content to rest on their laurels”.
“The progress achieved needs to be sustained over the years ahead,” Torney said. “As we move into an election cycle and the formation of a new government, it is important that all parties commit to continuing and strengthening action on climate and environment in the years ahead.”
Chair of the expert panel, Dr Cara Augustenborg, said their analysis makes clear “the importance of having strong commitments out of the gate”.
“We are turning a corner toward a more sustainable Ireland but still have a long way to go to address worrying trends in environmental health. I hope this process shows the next Government that we are always watching, and civil society will continue to demand more ambition and faster implementation of environmental commitments in any future Programme for Government.”
The report identified six areas where the next Government should make additional commitments to improve Ireland’s response to the climate crisis. These commitments include planning to phase out fossil fuels, implementing sustainable agriculture and aligning state agencies with climate obligations.
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