Sir, – The oft-quoted warning that Ireland faces fines of up to €26 billion for failing to meet Paris Accord climate targets is misleading and causes undue anxiety among many.
It is now generally accepted by the Environmental Protection Agency and Government Ministers that Ireland will fail to meet EU climate commitments based on the 2015 Paris Agreement.
It is estimated that Ireland will achieve about half of the 51 per cent reduction target in CO2 equivalent emissions by 2030.
Ireland is not alone in failing to meet climate goals, as only 12 EU countries are expected to meet 2030 commitments. Some of the large countries, such as Germany, Italy, France, are well off target.
READ MORE
Only six countries, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Spain will definitely meet EU targets by 2030. Sweden, the homeland of Greta Thunberg, has radically reduced its EU commitments.
It is significant that the EU itself has pushed back on many of its climate and sustainability commitments according to the renowned environmentalist Dr Tara Shine, including recently the decision to row back on curbing petrol and diesel cars by 2035.
It raises the question, therefore: is the Paris Agreement unattainable and unachievable for many countries?
Should countries such as Ireland radically change focus from spending billions trying vainly to achieve unachievable climate targets and instead focus all resources on adaptation and resilience against the ravages of greater climate change to come?
Devastating storm damage and flooding throughout the east and southeast has dramatically highlighted that Ireland is immediately faced with multibillion costs for adaptation to cope with ever increasing storms, causing serious societal and infrastructural damage.
As a small island with a large coastline, many of our coastal cities, towns and communities will be exposed to substantial sea rise and erosion and must be protected as a matter of urgency.
The Government must immediately refocus all efforts, finance and resources to drive adaptation and resilience to protect our society, citizens and infrastructure. – Yours, etc,
John Leahy,
Cork
