Ireland may face payments of up to €26bn if it does not accelerate action to comply with climate and energy targets by 2030. According to a report from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (Ifac) and the Climate Change Advisory Council, Ireland will have to pay €8bn to €26bn if it fails to meet climate targets; if the Government implements the additional measures in its own Climate Action Plan by 2030, it could reduce risks and potential costs to between €3bn and €12bn. To do so, the report recommends a major investment in Ireland’s energy grid (€7bn) to better integrate renewable energy sources (22 GW by 2030 according to the Climate Action Plan), to reduce the cost of electric vehicles and ramp up charging networks (€4bn), and to support forestry and the rewetting of peatlands (€1bn).
With existing measures, Ireland is expected to exceed its emissions limits by 57% above its 2030 target (-42% compared to 2005 levels), to miss its LULUCF targets with emissions more than double the 0.6 MtCO₂e target by 2030, to fall short by 12pp of its target of achieving a 43% renewable energy share, and to exceed by 21% the target to reduce final energy consumption to 10.5 Mtoe.
If the country applies additional measures, Ireland will still miss most of its targets, although by a smaller degree, exceeding its emission limits by 28% above its 2030 target, by 32% its LULUCF targets, by 19% its target to reduce final energy consumption and to fall marginally below its renewable energy share.
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