Press Release: Climate plan more an 'action promise' than an action plan

Climate plan more an 'action promise' than an action plan

National Mitigation Plan just doesn't add up to a big enough pollution cut

Friends of the Earth has expressed its disappointment that the Government's long-awaited National Mitigation Plan doesn't do enough to reduce Ireland's climate-changing pollution.
Commenting, Friends of the Earth Director, Oisin Coghlan said:

"I would like to be able to welcome this plan, we've waited so long for it. But it's very disappointing, it's more of an 'action promise' than an action plan.
"It's good to see Taosieach Leo Varadkar state in his foreword that what we need a 'societal transformation', 'sustained policy change' and the resources to back that up. But then the document just doesn't commit to enough policy change.
"There's no end date set for burning peat and coal electricity for example, two measures that the Government was first advised to do 19 years ago.
"There's nothing concrete on supporting small-scale solar to actually enable communities take part in the energy transition by making schools, sports clubs and parish halls into locally owned power plants, something the Taoiseach himself says he supports.
"The document is honest about the scale of the challenge we face and our lack of progress so far, but it simply doesn't commit to enough new actions to reduce pollution.
"The bottom line is that this plan fails the fundamental test of a climate action plan, it doesn't say how much pollution will be reduced as a result of the actions it lists. Perhaps because too many of them are still 'under consideration'. A half decent plan - like the last plan 10 years ago - would identify the emissions pathway we are on now, list the measures we are now going to take to reduce emissions, and state how much lower emissions will be as as result of all the measures in the plan. This document just doesn't to that.
"So we will have to wait for the new Planning Framework, the new Capital Investment Plan, the new Renewable Energy Policy and Budget 2018 to see if the Government is serious about translating the shift in rhetoric into real action.

ENDS
The plan is online here: http://bit.ly/DCCAEnmp