The Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan has said that the emissions ceilings for every sector will have to be at the higher end of the target range.
Speaking to Agriland during a visit to Co. Kerry over the past few days, the minister explained that this is because “what we need to do is so challenging”.
The Climate Action Plan 2021 contains the percentage ranges of emissions reduction targets that each sector of the economy will have to meet by 2030.
The plan uses emissions from the baseline year of 2018.
It was previously confirmed that the agriculture sector will have to cut its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by between 22% and 30% by the end of this decade.
Negotiations are continuing among government ministers and departments on what precise targets will be applied to each sector, ahead of an expected announcement in the coming weeks.
“Every sector is going to have to be up at the top end of the range that they have committed to do,” Minister Ryan commented.
“I’m in discussions with Minister [for agriculture] Charlie McConalogue, very good discussions, and part of what we’re doing is looking to see are there other ways in which we both save emissions, save money and actually create income streams for Irish farming. I’m confident that we will be able to do that,” he added.
The minister pointed to possibilities for the agriculture sector such as anaerobic digestion (AD), which is currently being explored by the Dingle Hub.
It is also progressing the Corca Dhuibhne 2030 initiative which aims to transition the Dingle Peninsula to a low-carbon and resilient community by 2030.
Turf sale
Meanwhile, the minister also addressed a public meeting entitled “Decarbonising Kerry” in Killarney last Thursday (June 23), organised by the Green Party.
During the meeting, Minister Ryan was presented with turf by a group of people who are unhappy with plans to ban the sale and distribution of the fuel later this year.
Under the proposed ban, there will be an exemption for the gifting or sharing of turf between families or neighbours.
There will also be an allowance for people to continue to sell and distribute turf in rural areas with a population of under 500 people.
Speaking to Agriland following the meeting, Minister Ryan confirmed his intention to push ahead with the move which will focus on the retail of solid fuels including smoky coal, turf and wet wood.
“We have to do it in that way because legally we wouldn’t have a leg to stand on if we tried to do one [fuel] and not the other.
“It won’t affect people in the home. It’s not designed to stop or prosecute someone for whatever they’re burning for whatever reason, nor even to stop someone traditionally getting access to their own turf.
“It is about public health and trying to save lives and do that in a way that is not to scare, or blame or to petrify anyone but it is to improve our public health.
“Those regulations still have to go through government. I am confident they will,” Ryan added.
“It is important that we do improve air quality and we save lives but we can do that in a way that doesn’t put people in a very difficult position,” the minister concluded.