Latest news with #ClimateAct
Irish Times
01-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Go nuclear?
Sir, – Ireland stands at a critical juncture in its climate action journey. Our national emissions reduction targets are ambitious – and increasingly unattainable. The Environmental Protection Agency warns that we will only achieve a 29 per cent reduction by 2030, falling dramatically short of our 51 per cent commitment under the Climate Act. I wonder if, or hopefully how many, of Ireland's population will consider how a proportion of nuclear energy, delivered through one of the recent interesting types of small modular reactor, could greatly improve our situation? – Yours, etc, ANNE BAILY (Dr) READ MORE Co Tipperary.
Agriland
28-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Green Party calls for rapid action to meet emissions targets
The Green Party has today (Wednesday, May 28) expressed concern at the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) projection that Ireland's climate progress has regressed. The party said it comes amid recent warnings from climate scientists that there is now a chance earth could exceed the critical 2°C warming threshold within the next five years. Total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the agriculture sector 'will range from a 1% increase to a 16% decrease over the period of 2018 to 2030″ according to the EPA report. However while the EPA has underlined the 'progress' the agriculture sector has made in relation to reducing GHG emissions, it has also warned that emissions from the Land Use, Land-use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector are projected to increase by up to 95%. Green Party Leader, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman stated: 'The Green Party in government delivered the lowest level of carbon emissions in 30 years, turning the tide on years of stagnation in progress. 'Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael need to bring the same level of urgency to reducing emissions – but that means heeding the warnings of the EPA and making the shift from policy aspiration to fast-tracking practical implementation.' Green Party on emissions report The Green Party proposes stepping up ambition and investment in sectors which it said are lagging behind in emissions progress, such as transport and buildings. Green Party spokesperson for climate, communications and energy, Ossian Smyth said: 'The changes that Ireland needs to catch up with the rest of Europe on climate will improve our daily quality of life. 'If we bring LUAS and commuter rail to our regional cities, help people in rural Ireland to buy EVs [electric vehicles], and make it safe for all children to walk and cycle to school, we will be back on the right track. 'We should be helping tenants and senior citizens with energy upgrades for their homes. If the rest of Europe is going to make these targets, there is no excuse for our Government to sit on their hands.' The Green Party stressed that EPA's report states that even under the most optimistic scenario — where every climate policy and measure planned by the government is implemented in full and on time — we would still only achieve a 23% reduction in emissions by 2030. The party is calling for further measures and innovative proposals across all sectors for rapid implementation to reach agreed targets. 'We call on the government to make a clear and renewed commitment to scaling-up climate ambition to reach our legally binding targets enshrined in the Climate Act,' the party has stated.
Irish Independent
12-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Shannon LNG power plant project stalled by legal challenge
Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) asked the High Court to allow a judicial review of An Bord Pleanála's decision to grant permission for the project The environmental group argues that the greenhouse gas emissions that would result from the gas-powered electricity generation plant have been undercounted. It says if the plant goes ahead, the electricity sector will breach the emissions threshold legally set for it. It also says An Bord Pleanála, by granting planning permission, failed in its responsibilities under Section 15 of the Climate Act which requires that public bodies act in accordance with the Climate Action Plan. Judge Richard Humphreys granted the group's request for leave for a judicial review and listed the case for a fortnight's time. Shannon LNG has been trying to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and regassification plant on the Co Kerry coast for almost 20 years and is involved in a protracted planning and legal battle over the project. However, last March it received permission for a separate but related electricity generation plant on the same site. The plant, which would be one of the country's biggest, would burn high-emissions conventional fossil fuel gas to generate electricity. It would also have the option of burning even more emission-intensive LNG if the import terminal and regassification plant receive permission. Opponents argue that approving the power plant will make it harder to refuse the LNG facilities and create a 'lock-in' effect, embedding LNG in the country's energy supply for the long term. ADVERTISEMENT Shannon LNG argues the power plant is necessary because of the growing demand for electricity in the country. It argues shipping LNG into Ireland is necessary because most of the country's supply of conventional fossil gas comes from an undersea pipe from the UK which could be vulnerable to disruption. The Government supports that view and earlier this year lifted a ban on LNG importation. In papers lodged to the court, FIE said there were critical failures in the environmental impact statement submitted by Shannon LNG in its planning application. Paul Price, adjunct professor at Dublin City University, said the method the company used to calculate the likely greenhouse gas emissions was incorrect and the emissions were 'significantly underestimated'. The group argues that new power plants that would generate more than 3 gigawatts (GW) of electricity were already awaiting construction – more than the 2GW the Government said was needed to meet electricity demand to the end of the decade. "Even on the developer's emissions calculations (which significantly underestimate greenhouse gas emissions) this single power station would on its own account for one-third own of all budgeted emissions from the entire electricity sector in 2030,' it argues. 'Nowhere does the Inspector [of An Bord Pleanála] explain how this could possibly be compliant with the relevant carbon budgets and sectorial emissions ceilings.' The matter back in court on May 26th.
The Journal
12-05-2025
- Business
- The Journal
Judicial review lodged against plans for 600MW Shannon LNG power plant
AN IRISH ENVIRONMENTAL group has lodged a judicial review against plans for a gas power plant in Co Kerry. American-owned company Shannon LNG Ltd intends to build a 600 MW power plant and 120 MWh battery energy storage system on a 630-acre site between Tarbert and Ballylongford. An Bord Pleanála granted planning permission for the development in March. However, it could be held up by a judicial review lodged today by Friends of the Irish Environment, the group behind the case that led to the 2020 Supreme Court ruling that a governmental climate plan was too vague to comply with legal requirements. The group is arguing that the Environmental Impact Assessment of the project has underestimated the gross amount of greenhouse gas emissions that would be produced. It argues that any new source of direct and indirect emissions of methane – a primary component of LNG – is 'liable to compromise alignment with Ireland's Climate Act'. Advertisement In its submission to the High Court, it also argues that An Bord Pleanála seems to suggest the development would held Ireland to meet a 2GW target for new gas plans under the National Development Plan, but there are at least 3GW worth of projects that have already received final grant of planning permission and another 2.7GW worth in the planning process. Friends of the Irish Environment estimates that the plant could account for one-third of all of Ireland's electricity sector's budgeted emissions in 2030. 'To commit Ireland to further fossil fuel generation when the planned capacity has been met is fundamentally flawed as households will bear the financial costs and the inevitable overshoot of our climate targets will require cuts to other sectors – or eye-watering fines', Friends of the Irish Environment director Tony Lowes said. The group is represented by FP Logue Solicitors, John Kenny BL and James Devlin SC. The planning application from Shannon LNG Ltd sought permission to build a power plant with three turbine halls, each of which would include two gas turbines with generators and two heat recovery steam generators with 35-metre tall exhaust stacks. It also proposed a 120-megawatt hour battery energy storage system. When the project was granted permission, it was welcomed by several local politicians, including Kerry TD and Minister for Children Norma Foley, who said the 'land bank in Tarbert has been ripe for development for many decades'. 'The granting of planning permission for this project has the potential to bring significant employment opportunities to the area,' Foley said at the time. However, Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman said that the decision 'represents further evidence of the retreat from pro-climate policies that is being led by the new government'. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
New York Post
03-05-2025
- Automotive
- New York Post
Face facts and pull the plug on NY's insane electric-vehicle mandate
It's beyond time for Gov. Kathy Hochul to pull the plug on her pie-in-the-sky electric-vehicle-mandate madness. In 2022, New York adopted California's Advanced Clean Car II rule, requiring 35% of 2026 model cars sold in the state to be 'emissions-free,' then 68% by 2030 and 100% by 2035 — part of the drive to meet the harebrained goals of ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 2019 Climate Act. With the 2026 deadline looming, EV sales are nowhere near 35%: Electrics make up only 10% of car sales statewide, and in some parts of New York it's below 2%. Failure to meet the targets exposes automakers to hefty fines, which they'd either have to pass on to customers or avoid by cutting off sales of non-EVs. That has auto dealers pleading for sanity, with Greater Automobile Dealers Association of NY Chairman Jack Weidinger pointing out: 'The deadlines don't match the reality.' Meanwhile, eight House members (four Republicans, four Democrats) from New York wrote Hochul in February, warning of 'substantial economic repercussions' as the mandate could 'raise the prices of all vehicles, making even hybrids and gas-powered cars more expensive for consumers.' The gov's main action so far: promising $30 million in subsidies to try to bribe New Yorkers into buying EVs. Her staff also insist the mandates don't really mean what they say, and can be met this year if as few as 11% of new sales are electric, and claim the state Department of Environmental Conservation won't enforce the 35% sales rate until the end of 2030 'at the earliest.' Then why not change the letter of the law? Otherwise, greens might well sue to require enforcement at the stated levels. Indeed, it's unlikely even 35%-by-2030 is remotely practical: Drivers simply don't want EVs, because of their limited range, poor cold-weather performance and other issues. Plus, New York doesn't have the charging infrastructure to support the EVs already on the road. There aren't nearly enough stations (some reportedly have wait times of over an hour), and options become even more sparse when drivers leave the city, making long-distance travel a pain. In February, Hochul announced $60 million to build more charging stations — on an already overworked, unstable grid. With New York greenies fiercely opposed to the use of any reliable energy source, where, exactly, is the electricity to power all these new EVs to come from? Wind farms aren't going to cut it. Some states that adopted the ACC II rule in the last few years are already wising up: In early April, Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order postponing penalties for failing to meet the impossible standards. He probably realized that drivers are more likely to take their business to Virginia, where Gov. Glenn Youngkin removed the EV mandate last year, than buy an electric vehicle they don't want in Maryland. Hochul needs a similar wake-up call. It's time to face facts: These standards are a pipe dream. Ditch the mandate now, gov.
