CCAC recommends extra €10k in grants over purchase of EVs
It is also calling for scrappage schemes and other transport-related incentives to help accelerate the switch to battery-electric vehicles and decarbonise private transport.
The transport sector already accounts for 43% of all energy used in Ireland.
However, the sale of highly efficient battery electric vehicles fell by 24% last year, while greenhouse gas emissions reductions from public transport and more efficient cars were effectively wiped out because of the growth in demand for transport.
The CCAC is alarmed by these trends, especially since a 50% reduction in transport emissions must be delivered by 2030.
Its annual review of the transport sector calls for urgent Government intervention to support sustained emissions reductions and more to be done to encourage people to switch to public transport.
It notes that 773,000 primary and post-primary pupils do not have access to the School Transport Scheme; that 50% of students travel to their place of education by car; and that almost one in five car journeys nationwide are for the purpose of education.
The council says it strongly supports expanding eligibility for the heavily subsidised school bus scheme as well as greater integration of school transport and public transport services.
It is also calling for an expansion of the Safe Routes to School Programme to support the required shift in the sector.
According to its report, the total stock of Battery Electric Vehicles on Irish roads at the end of last year was 72,640. This is just 3.05% of the total passenger car fleet.
The Climate Change Advisory Council wants existing incentives for electric vehicles to be maintained and enhanced but says the EV grant system needs to be refocused.
Its call is for increased supports for purchasing more efficient and cheaper electric vehicles, including second-hand EVs.
However, it says those additional supports should be focused on areas with the poorest access to public transport services and Just Transition Principles.
Additional grants of up to €10,000 for fully electric vehicles costing less than €35,000 for lower income households will be key, it says.
It is also calling for an accelerated roll-out of publicly accessible electric vehicle charging infrastructure alongside the ambitious roll-out of electricity network reinforcement.
At the end of last year there were 2,802 publicly accessible "slower" AC charging points and 786 fast DC charging points for electric vehicles.
This equates to seven charging points per 10,000 people in Ireland, which is considerably below the EU-27 average of 20 charging points per 10,000 people, or the average of 13 per 10,000 people in the UK.
Over €294 million was allocated in funding for active travel infrastructure this year, bringing the total investment since 2020 to over €1.25 billion.
In terms of mode share, cycling increased slightly from 1.8% of journeys in 2022 to 1.9% in 2023.
Meanwhile, walking declined from 19.3% of trips to 17.7% overall.
Commenting on the launch of the Transport Review, Marie Donnelly, Chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council said: "Transport is Ireland's biggest source of energy demand, and emissions from the sector must reduce by half if the sector is meet its target.
"To achieve this, urgent and decisive action must now be taken by Government to end our reliance on fossil fuels and deliver the kind of transformative change that is required in this sector.
"We have seen signs of progress in public transport with more than half of the redesigned BusConnects network in Dublin implemented, a 48% increase in passenger boardings on redesigned routes, and a significant growth in the number of EV and hybrid buses on our roads.
"However much more must be done to improve the integration of school transport with public transport services, which will be vital in helping to reduce car journeys and tackle emissions."
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