National Strategies & Initiatives

The National Mitigation Plan

Ireland's latest climate change policy action framework is outlined in the National Mitigation Plan, released in July 2017. This plan is seen as a work-in-progress and admits to not outlining a full roadmap to 2050, but claims to set the groundwork for the development of a low carbon economy in future. 

The EU has independently committed itself to reducing its GHG emissions to net zero by 2050. The Paris agreement in 2015, and updated in 2020, committed EU members to reducing emissions by at least 55% by 2030. 

The National Mitigation Plan is structured as follows:

• Chapter 2: Climate Action Policy Framework describes the overall framework for policy on climate action operating in Ireland within the context of international and EU climate policy objectives. This chapter describes the long-term decarbonisation objective that Ireland has set for itself, describes transition pathway scenarios towards meeting this objective, and assesses our current progress towards achieving our existing targets. The chapter then describes a number of cross-cutting actions and implementation and oversight arrangements for the National Mitigation Plan.  
• Chapter 3: Decarbonising Electricity Generation describes the policy context within which action is being taken in the electricity sector to achieve a low carbon energy sector by 2050. Measures in the context of Ireland’s existing renewable energy targets are complemented by the longer-term policy framework provided by the Energy White Paper Ireland’s Transition to a Low Carbon Energy Future.
• Chapter 4: Decarbonising the Built Environment focuses on action being taken to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with Ireland’s building stock, sets out the work that is currently underway to prepare for deeper measures after 2020, and provides a 2050 vision for Ireland’s built environment.
• Chapter 5: Decarbonising Transport describes the profile of Ireland’s transport sector and its multiple objectives within Ireland’s economy. The chapter sets out the various measures already helping to contain the level of emissions associated with the transport sector and identifies a range of potential additional measures that can help to intensify mitigation efforts within the sector. As part of the longer term vision for the sector, this National Mitigation Plan sets out an ambition that all new cars and vans sold in Ireland from 2030 will be zero emission capable.
• Chapter 6: An Approach to Carbon Neutrality for Agriculture, Forest and Land Use Sectors describes the range of actions being taken to advance the long-term vision for this sector of an approach to carbon neutrality which does not compromise capacity for sustainable food production.

See the full report here.

The National Adaptation Framework

Ireland's National Adaptation Framework was published on 19th January 2018 and aims to reduce the vulnerability of the country to the effects of climate change and to take advantage of potential positive impacts. The report is available here. 

• Chapter 1 provides a summary of observed and projected global climate change and the international and European policy drivers for adaptation to climate change. It also contains a summary of observed and projected climate change impacts in Ireland.
• Chapter 2 sets out the progress to date on climate change adaptation planning in Ireland, including work undertaken at sectoral and local government level and initiatives involving civil society and the research community.
• Chapter 3 provides a number of guiding principles for adaptation at national level. It includes steps for creating an enabling environment for adaptation planning. It sets out the sectors for which adaptation plans under the NAF are to be prepared, along with proposals for local authority or regional level adaptation strategies.
• Chapter 4 outlines how the Framework will be implemented with revised Governance and reporting arrangements as well as actions and supporting objectives that are to be progressed.