Ireland’s government agrees on climate bill to set 2050 net zero goal in law

(Climate Home News, 25 Mar 2021) Ireland’s coalition government has approved a climate bill that enshrines emissions reduction targets in law and puts the country on a path to carbon neutrality by 2050.

The proposed law would commit Ireland to cutting its emissions by 51% between 2018 and 2030 and to net zero no later than 2050. Government is pushing it through parliament as priority legislation.

The country’s environment minister Eamon Ryan previously said Ireland would match EU emissions targets. EU environment ministers continue to push for a 2030 reduction target of at least 55% from 1990 levels.

Ireland’s 2030 goal works out at a 45% reduction if the baseline is set t0 1990, according to campaign group Friends of the Irish Environment.

Ireland formed a three-party coalition government in June, including the Republican party Fianna Fáil, the more liberal Fine Gael party and the Green Party. The coalition agreed to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by an average 7% per year, in line with Paris Agreement commitments. 

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Climate Home News, 25 Mar 2021: Ireland’s government agrees on climate bill to set 2050 net zero goal in law