Ireland set to miss national and EU emissions reduction targets by long way

illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Irish Times or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Ireland is projected to miss its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets significantly, achieving only a 29% reduction compared to the legally-binding target of 51%, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

🔭 The context: The EPA's annual data for the EU shows that Ireland is on a path of continuously missing its emissions targets
• The first two legally-binding carbon budgets for 2021-2025 and 2026-2030 will not be met, with shortfalls between 17% and 27%

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Failure to meet these targets poses a significant challenge to climate action and could lead to increased economic and environmental costs, including higher compliance costs and EU fines, hindering efforts to combat climate change

⏭️ What's next: Ireland will need to apply more stringent limits and accelerate the implementation of renewable energy technologies and emission reduction measures across all sectors to meet future targets

💬 One quote: “The key priority must be to translate the aspiration in our policies and plans to implementation on the ground,” stated Laura Burke, EPA Director General

📈 One stat: Estimated compliance costs due to missing EU targets range between €3 billion and €8 billion

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