Ireland and the Paris Agreement

Ireland`s obligations under the Effort Sharing Decision will expire in 2020, followed by the EU Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR). This Regulation sets binding annual greenhouse GAS emission targets for Member States for the period 2021-2030 inclusively. Under CSR, targets for Member States are based on GDP per capita and the cost-effectiveness of national emission reductions in each Member State. The final agreement sets Ireland a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 (compared to 2005 levels). This will be Ireland`s contribution to the EU`s overall target of reducing its emissions by 40% by 2020 compared to 1990 levels. Ireland contributes to the agreement through climate action plans presented by the European Union on behalf of the Member States. These plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), outline the strategies and goals a country adopts to address climate change. Ireland is a strong supporter of the Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement is a legally binding global agreement to combat climate change. It has been adopted by 197 countries since 2015. The Department for Communications and Climate Action said Ireland “is a strong supporter of the Paris Agreement and expressed its continued commitment by signing the agreement with other EU member states at the signing ceremony in New York on 22 April 2016”. The U.S. withdrawal will take effect in November 2020. The agreement is legally binding on all other signatories.

The agreement was reached due to international unrest and concerns about the future of the planet under the threat of climate change. The precursor to the Paris Agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, was introduced in 1997 and set emission targets, but did not stop global warming, and greenhouse gas emissions continued to rise. The Paris Agreement, concluded in Paris on 12 December 2015, is a legally binding global climate agreement that aims to strengthen countries` capacity to cope with the effects of climate change. It sets a long-term goal to limit global warming to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels and continue efforts to limit the temperature rise to 1.5°C. The agreement requires each Party to prepare and communicate a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) that it intends to achieve. NDCs are submitted to the UNFCCC every five years. Ireland will contribute to the agreement through the NDC presented by the EU on behalf of Member States in 2016, which commits to reducing EU-wide emissions by 40% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. All parties are required to submit new or updated NDCs in 2020. More needs to be done to phase out fossil fuels used in energy production, and realistic efforts must be made to recognise that we have reached a legally binding agreement in the Paris Agreement. Which, frankly, we don`t seem to take seriously enough. To reduce the amount of pollutants in the air, Ireland has committed to reducing air emissions through national, European and international agreements.

These agreements set objectives that Ireland aims to achieve within a certain period of time, such as . B reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030. Ireland`s current plan to reduce air pollution is set out in the Climate Action Plan 2021. The specific objectives of the agreement, as set out in Article 2, include: The ratification process will be completed at a time when world leaders gather in Morocco for COP22, where they will consider how to implement the Paris Agreement. Cabinet sends Paris Climate Agreement to Dáil for ratification The agreement, known as COP21, sets out a global action plan to limit the impact of emissions on global warming, keep the rise in global average temperature well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and make efforts to limit the temperature rise to 1.5°C. Following the ratification of the agreement by Dáil Éireann in October, Naughten said: “Today is a turning point with the formal approval of the Paris Agreement by Dáil Éireann. It is the basis for doing more and enabling communities in Ireland and other countries around the world to take decisive action that will ultimately secure our common future on this planet. The agreement sets a long-term goal to limit climate change by limiting global warming to less than 2°C, preferably 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels. The ratification of the Paris Agreement was approved by Dáil Éireann on 27 October 2016. In short, the objectives of the agreement are to stop and maintain global warming at a maximum increase of 2 degrees, to lower the global temperature on average preferably by half a degree to 1.5 degrees, and to make every effort (including financial support) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The agreement – the world`s first universal and legally binding climate agreement – was concluded in Paris in December 2015. “For example, no electric buses have been purchased for any of Ireland`s cities, with Ireland lagging far behind many Eastern European member states in this regard, including Poland and Romania, for example.” As one of the smallest island countries, Ireland will lose a lot if global warming is not stopped and the ice caps melt and sea levels rise.

To help Ireland meet its long-term emissions targets, the plan proposes a set of five-year carbon budgets between 2021 and 2036, as well as an expanded Climate Change Council to be overseen with the Oireachtas Committee. Every public institution has a mandate to prioritize climate protection, and the entire plan is underpinned by a new “Climate Protection Law.” Units: 1 Mt = 1,000 kilotonnes of CO2 equivalent: Non-CO2 greenhouse gases (i.e. methane, nitrous oxide and so-called F gases) can be converted into CO2 equivalents using their global warming potential. Fluorinated gases: These gases include HFCs (partial fluorocarbons), PFCs (perfluorocarbons), SF6 (sulphur hexafluoride) and NF3 (nitrogen trifluoride). They are much stronger than natural greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide). While Ireland lags behind other European countries in other sectors, this share is not far from the UK, where renewables provided 34% of electricity last year. Nearly one million electric vehicles on our roads by 2030, including 840,000 cars and 95,000 electric vans and trucks, will contribute to an additional projected emissions savings in the sector of 13.2 Mt of CO2 equivalent over the period 2021-2030. .