Latest news with #ClimateChangeAdvisoryCouncil
Agriland
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Agriland
Watch: ‘It's in Europe's interest to move off fossil fuels'
The Climate Change Advisory Council's chairperson, Marie Donnelly has said that Europe should 'move off fossil fuels' to address issues with climate change. Donnelly was a panelist at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's (DAFM) Agriculture and Climate Change conference in Dublin Castle today (June 5). Climate Change Advisory Council's chairperson, Marie Donnelly She told Agriland that Ireland's climate legislation is in place, but that it is 'not fast enough, and not deep enough'. Donnelly said: 'At a European level, one of the political questions that's center stage right now is whether the commission will endorse the recommendations of the European Scientific Body for the 2040 Carbon Budget, which is a 90% reduction in emissions. 'It's quite a political discussion, members of the EU Parliament are discussing it. The commission is debating it, and we expect something in September.' The Climate Change Advisory chair believes that there is a 'greater awareness' for farming as an industry, and as a way of life, and outlined the role that the EU will play in counteracting climate change. 'It's very important that Europe, as part of it's general approach, thinks about Europe itself, it's own self sufficiency, and it's own efficiency,' Donnelly said. 'When we look at climate change in Europe, it's very pertinent. Europe is the fast warming continent in the world.' 'What is causing global warming faster than anything else? Fossil fuels. Europe has no fossil fuels. We import all of our fossil fuels. Strategically, from a competitiveness point of view, and a security point of view, it's in Europe's interest to move off fossil fuels, as it happens it works for the climate,' Donnelly added. Marie Donnelly Donnelly believes that change is necessary throughout society in order to combat climate change, and that farmers will be impacted. She said: 'To understand what change we need to make, and to support people in making that change, that includes farmers. It might be financial support, new research, new ways of doing things that allow farmers to be efficient and climate active at the same time. 'We have to think of ways to get information out to farmers. Yes it might be financial, but it's more than that, communication, education, dialogue, mutual support, farm leaders, to get message out to adopt new mechanism. 'Farmers have been adopting new methods always. This is not new for farming. If you look at farming 20 years ago, it's not the same as today. It's the nature of farming to modernise as it goes forward,' Donnelly added.
Irish Examiner
29-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Energy independence: A prize worth fighting for
Extensive mapping has found that Ireland can generate at least a further 6,000 MW of wind energy, in addition to what is already built or in the planning system. Onshore wind energy is already our most affordable source of new electricity. It is clean, it is secure, it creates jobs at home and it supports communities in rural Ireland. Irish wind farms provide more than a third of the country's electricity and have saved consumers nearly €840 million since 2000, around €320 per person since the start of the decade. Without them we would spend more than €1 billion a year on gas, almost all of it imported, for electricity generation. While momentum continues to build behind offshore wind energy it is our onshore wind farms on which we must rely in our efforts to meet our 2030 targets and which will continue to provide the bulk of our renewable power until well into the next decade. Build faster We need to build more, faster, and more affordably or face billions in fines identified by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the Climate Change Advisory Council. A new report from Galway-based planning consultancy MKO, Protecting Consumers: Our onshore wind energy opportunity, contains a detailed analysis of the potential for more onshore wind energy in Ireland, and shows us that we can do just that. We have just over 5,000 MW of wind energy connected to the electricity grid. Another four thousand have secured, or applied for, planning permission which could get us close to our existing 9,000 MW target. MKO's detailed and painstaking analysis maps every single household and business in Ireland, identifies every environmentally protected area, every river, lake and stream, develops a coherent national approach on landscape and identifies the total space left in Ireland for onshore wind energy development. Out of this area — roughly 1,302 square kilometres or less than 2 per cent of the country – the authors estimate, conservatively, that at least another 6,000 MW of onshore wind energy could be produced beyond the current 9,000 MW target. 'Ireland has significant additional potential to harness our indigenous onshore wind energy resource,' said Brian Keville, Managing Director of MKO Ireland and lead author of the report. 'This analysis clearly demonstrates that a significant amount of onshore wind energy can be delivered in just two per cent of the country's land mass, while taking account of planning and environmental constraints and design requirements.' Challenges There are still challenges. Some of the most suitable locations identified are in areas with a weak electricity grid network. That is why investing in upgrading our grid is so important, to get affordable, clean, energy from where it is produced to where it is needed. Other locations might be difficult to develop at the right cost. That is why the renewable energy industry, has been calling — for five years — for a cross-departmental and independently chaired task-force to identify how we can lower prices. They may be big challenges, but the prize is big too — energy independence. 'There is no doubt that Ireland is a wind energy success story, particularly in onshore wind,' the Taoiseach recently told the Dáil. 'but because of a lot of controversy around locations in certain aspects that narrative does not often get told. 'We get a greater share of our electricity, 35% on average, from onshore wind farms than anywhere else in Europe. We are world leaders in integrating renewables onto our grid, which can now take up to 75% of total electricity demand from wind farms. 'Last January, a significant milestone was achieved when the State reached more than 5 GW of installed wind capacity. That is half-way to the State's 2030 onshore climate action target.' Stand up for consumers It is time now to stand up for Irish electricity consumers and onshore wind energy is Ireland's most affordable source of new electricity. The more wind energy that we can develop, the less we rely on imported fossils fuels, and the better protected Irish families and businesses are from a volatile fossil fuel market. Every month we see wind energy reducing electricity costs. Tripling our onshore wind capacity, which is possible by delivering our existing pipeline and developing the land identified by MKO, would drive these costs down even further. We simply cannot build a strong, resilient, low-carbon economy if we are relying on imported expensive fossil fuels. Our future must be our own, one built on a foundation provided by the clean, affordable and secure energy that only the renewable energy industry can provide. Ireland's onshore wind farms, supported by new offshore wind projects, solar, storage and a new generation of advanced interconnectors, will secure the future of a prosperous, competitive, country in which our families and our businesses can thrive. That's a prize worth fighting for.
Irish Independent
28-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Ireland falling further behind in bid to meet climate targets, revised emissions forecast shows
A new assessment published today revises the best-case scenario down, showing that instead of reducing emissions by 51pc by 2030 as legally required, a drop of just 23pc is the most that can be hoped for. That is less than half the reduction needed and significantly less than the already insufficient 29pc cut that was forecast last year and in 2023. The blow comes after government departments handed over the latest data on the progress they have made in their areas of responsibility. It shows they have fallen further behind target in taking fossil fuels out of transport, industry, electricity generation, homes and other buildings and in reducing methane emissions from agriculture. Two government-appointed expert bodies, the Fiscal Advisory Council and Climate Change Advisory Council, warned recently that failure to meet targets could cost Ireland €26bn in EU fines and compliance payments after 2030. The update is from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is responsible for compiling Ireland's annual greenhouse gas inventory and calculating projections for the years ahead. Laura Burke, the EPA's director general, said the lack of progress was 'concerning'. 'Full delivery of all climate action plans and policies could deliver a 23pc reduction in greenhouse gas emissions,' she said. 'The gaps to our European and national emission reduction targets are now projected to be larger than last year. The focus must shift from policy aspiration to practical implementation.' Momentum is building for Ireland's low-carbon society, but we need to accelerate it and scale up the transition Key areas where efforts are lagging include the development of renewable energy. Latest estimates show there will be 25pc less energy available from wind farms and solar parks than hoped for – 16.1 gigawatts instead of 22GW. In transport, a third fewer electric vehicles are now forecast to be on the road by 2030 – 640,750 instead of 945,000. ADVERTISEMENT Plans to replace some fossil gas with biomethane are also 25pc behind schedule and expected to deliver 4.3 terawatts instead of 5.7TWh. District heating schemes to replace oil and gas heat sources with renewables have barely begun and are now expected to deliver just 8pc of the heat forecast – 0.2TWh instead of 2.7TWh. The EPA warned that for even the revised-down figures to be achieved, it would take 'full implementation of a wide range of policies and plans across all sectors and for these to deliver the anticipated carbon savings'. Wind industry representatives are warning that the targets for their sector look doubtful because of hold-ups in planning and support infrastructure for new turbines. The revised figure for electric vehicles also appears optimistic because there are currently just 148,000 on the road and only 82,500 are fully electric while the rest are hybrid. Uncertainty surrounds how agriculture will perform, and it is feared emissions could even rise slightly in this sector by 2030. The muted forecasts come despite some reductions in national greenhouse gas emissions, which fell by 6.8pc in 2023, with a similar drop expected to be confirmed for 2024 when figures are finalised in the coming months. Ms Burke said the trends were 'going in the right direction' but nowhere near fast enough. 'Momentum is building for Ireland's low-carbon society, but we need to accelerate it and scale up the transition,' she said. Each sector of the economy and society has its own emission reduction target for 2030, and the EPA assessment shows revised cuts they are now expected to achieve. Agriculture has a 25pc target, but it is expected to be cut by 16pc at best and it could actually increase emissions by 1pc. Transport emissions are required to fall by 50pc, but the best-case scenario is 21pc if all feasibly deliverable promised plans and policies are implemented. If not, the reduction could be as small as 9pc. Electricity generation has a target cut of 75pc, but a 68pc cut is expected at best and possibly just 59pc. Industry is headed for a 12pc emissions cut, well below the sector's 35pc target. Residential buildings are expected to achieve a 22pc cut, but the target is 40pc. Agriculture has a 25pc target, but it is expected to be cut by 16pc at best and it could actually increase emissions by 1pc. The only sector where emissions are certain to increase is what is termed 'land use, land use change and forestry' (LULUCF) where the rise is expected to be between 39pc and 95pc. That is due to ageing forests and intensive use of land that stops plants soaking up carbon and releases it instead. Another reason the EPA has had to scale back its projections is that the original 51pc reduction target included some 'unallocated cuts' that it was hoped could be made through technologies not identified at the time. The EPA said ways to make those cuts had still not been specified. Environment Minister Darragh O'Brien defended the Government's record and said it was 'fully aware of the scale of the climate challenge'. He added: 'EPA projections are not absolute forecasts.'
Irish Times
30-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Regulator criticised over energy firms' failure to help consumers save money via smart meters
The Government and the energy regulator need to do more to compel domestic energy providers to make better use of smart meters to allow consumers to save money and reduce emissions, the Climate Change Advisory Council has said. Almost two million smart meters have been installed in Irish homes but the council noted that it can be hard for consumers and businesses to access the data the meters can produce. That lack of information can, it warned, make it harder for people to decide on what plan they should be on to get the best value for money for their home. There is legislation in place aimed at ensuring electricity suppliers offer customers price plans that allow them to save money, change consumption patterns and reduce emissions. READ MORE However, the council said on Wednesday it was disappointing that the deadline for delivering new tariffs had been delayed by the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU). The council also reiterated its call for the accelerated roll-out of renewable energy to enable the State to transition away from its reliance on fossil fuels. 'Despite the installation of almost two million smart meters, people, households and businesses cannot easily access data on the consumption of their electricity to avail of better tariffs,' said the chairwoman of the council, Marie Donnelly. Marie Donnelly, chairwoman of the Climate Change Advisory Council. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill 'Electricity suppliers must provide new tariffs, as set out in legislation, which is vital to both altering consumption patterns and shifting electricity usage away from peak times, and saving people, households and businesses money. 'It is for these reasons that we are calling on the CRU to reconsider its decision to extend the deadline for electricity suppliers to offer these new tariffs.' Ms Donnelly said the continued reliance on harmful imported fossil fuels for electricity generation means the State's electricity is more carbon-intensive than that of many other EU members. The rate of renewable electricity capacity development has been far below what is required to meet emissions reduction targets, and the council has said significant action is needed to expedite the deployment of renewables at pace.
The Journal
30-04-2025
- Business
- The Journal
Government called on to ensure electricity suppliers offer customers dynamic energy price plans
THE GOVERNMENT AND the regulator 'must ensure' that electricity suppliers offer customers price plans with a view to reducing emissions and saving money, the Climate Change Advisory Council has said. Dynamic electricity price tariffs are present when the price for electricity varies throughout the day and the price changes reflect the wholesale market price. It is also known as 'real-time pricing'. Essentially, a customer availing of such dynamic pricing will be able to see the price of a half-hour using electricity. Due to factors like low demand and excess renewable energy on the grid, certain times will prove cheaper for customers to utilise appliances that use larger amounts of electricity – such as using a washing machine, dishwasher, the oven, etc. Dynamic energy pricing works on the basis of having three components: two fixed amounts (a standing charge and a basic unit rate charge), and the variable dynamic unit charge. Advertisement These tariffs have been described by the UCD Energy Institute as 'a step forward' in 'improving economic efficiency, promoting variable renewable generation sources, and providing choice to customers'. Legislation enacted in 2022 entitles customers to enter into a dynamic price contract. However, no supplier has yet made this available to customers. In September 2024, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities decided that electricity suppliers would be required to offer customers a Standard Dynamic Price Contract by 1 October 2025. However, this deadline was recently extended until 1 June 2026. The Climate Change Advisory Council said that this was 'disappointing'. The council also highlighted that targets for emissions reductions have not been met and urged the government to accelerate the rollout of renewable energy to allow Ireland to ease its reliance on fossil fuels. It said that investment and political attention is needed as regards the national energy grid, citing damage caused by storms Darragh and Éowyn. 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
