Ireland’s Climate Mitigation Plan – NFLA concerned about a real lack of urgency in delivering renewables, supporting decentralised energy and moving Ireland of its fossil fuel dependence. The Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) gives a broad welcome to the direction of travel in the Irish Government’s First Climate Mitigation Plan, but it is profoundly disappointed with the speed of uptake and lack of action with renewable energy, at a time when coal and peat use has actually gone up since the recent upturn in the Irish economy. NFLA is also disappointed with the lack of a joined-up strategy that gives local authorities a more prominent role in developing a decentralised energy market that would garner significant community support. The Climate Mitigation Plan spells out the scale of challenge in Ireland to reduce carbon emissions across electricity, heat and transport. It follows on from a previous Green Paper and a 2015 White Paper. Almost five years have passed by, but while the Mitigation Plan has lots of proposed plans, it has limited substantial action, particularly given the upturn in the economy places a greater demand for energy.
NFLA 1st Aug 2017 read more »