The Government\u2019s inability to provide a clear timeline for the delivery of the 2026 Climate Action Plan is putting Ireland on a road to financial and environmental ruin, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore.<\/p>\n
Deputy Whitmore, who is the party\u2019s environment spokesperson, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Climate Action Plan is crucial in setting out all the actions the Government needs to take to achieve our emissions reduction targets.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, when I asked the Minister for the Environment through a parliamentary question to account for the delay in publishing the 2026 plan, all he could say was that his department is working towards bringing a draft to Government \u2018later this year\u2019. Such a vague response makes it likely that we won\u2019t have sight of the new Climate Action Plan until the summer \u2013 or possibly even later than that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is further worrying evidence that the Government is continuing to backslide on Ireland\u2019s legally binding commitment to reduce our greenhouse emissions by 51 per cent by 2030. Failure to hit these targets will saddle future governments \u2013 and the taxpayer \u2013 with billions in EU non-compliance fines and put the country at risk of even more extreme weather events.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs things stand, Ireland is only on course to reduce its emissions by 23 per cent \u2013 a direct result of years of drift, delay and inaction.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tumultuous events of the past week are a timely reminder of our vulnerablity to energy shocks and highlight the urgent need to move away from our dependency on fossil fuels. Investment in renewable energy, such as solar power, and a scaled-up retrofitting programme is essential if we are to address the cost-of-living crisis and meet our climate action targets.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, the D\u00e1il is debating a Social Democrats\u2019 motion on tackling soaring energy costs, which includes a call on the Government to implement our party\u2019s \u2018Solar for All\u2019 plan. This would see a doubling of grants for solar installation to \u20ac3,600, and the inclusion of solar panels in the Warmer Homes Scheme \u2013 a measure that would help families cut their electricity bills by an average of \u20ac450 every year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are the type of initiatives needed to deal with the existential threat we face from climate change \u2013 an issue that this Government clearly doesn\u2019t see as a priority.\u201d<\/p>\n
April 15, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Government\u2019s inability to provide a clear timeline for the delivery of the 2026 Climate Action Plan is putting Ireland on a road to financial and environmental ruin, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore. Deputy Whitmore, who is the party\u2019s environment spokesperson, said: \u201cThe Climate Action Plan is crucial in setting out all the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11226,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[405,650,539,727,268,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate","category-cost-of-living","category-energy","category-environment","category-jennifer-whitmore","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n