10.1 billion capital spend is largest ever in a budget, to be allocated to schools, homes and transport infrastructure - promising, but no mention yet on where this fits in low carbon transition.
Vehicle testing bands will now reflect emissions performance, lower VRT rates for low emissions cars, higher NOx vehicles will pay more.
@Paschald on green taxes -"Ireland is way-off course to make our 2030 legally-binding [emissions reduction] targets."
.@RTENewsPaulC - Confirming the €7.50 carbon tax increase, and a hike in VRT, @Paschald wants to encourage the public to "make greener choices" when buying vehicles, clarifying imported cars will have their NOx emissions based on Irish standards.
.@mmcgrathtd now discussing #climatechange, assuring #carbontax revenues is not a money making exercise and will be returned back to people for energy retrofit, etc. Looking forward to seeing details on these schemes.
.@mmcgrathtd ends #climatechange section of his speech stating "We must climate proof our economy and society for future generations". Lovely words (that I wish I'd heard 10+ years ago), but proof must be in the pudding/money.
Taking a deep dive into #BudgetDay speeches now because that's how nerdy I am... Full text available here: gov.ie/en/collection/…
#Budget2021 total value of support measures = €24½ billion (8 times #Budget2020, which was expected to be a "green budget") so I'm expecting AT LEAST 8x the amount of investment in green programmes in this one.
Compared to last year's budget, there is substantial forward progress on climate action including at least18x more investment in active travel, 2x more in energy retrofit, and a smarter approach to incentivizing cleaner car purchases through VRT changes.
What's less clear is where #biodiversity ranks in #Budget2021... @mmcgrathtd said EUR 29m going to heritage, NPWS and peat restoration but no details forthcoming on breakdown. NPWS current budget = 14m/yr, @Irishwildlife / @BirdWatchIE says they need 50-100m/yr so still far short
Thread: Ireland's #ClimateBill amendments are finally published with a press conference taking place on @RTENewsNow momentarily. Having painstakingly cross referenced this Bill with the original 2015 Low Carbon Development Bill, my initial thoughts 👇
Four big changes... 1. The good news – New Bill leads w/ much more ambitious 2050 target (climate neutrality) legislated for AHEAD of EU’s own plans to raise climate ambition. In legal terms, this puts IRK in climate leader category instead of laggard (on paper anyway).
2. Carbon budgets – Three 5-year carbon budgets set a national cap on emissions w/ a “decarbonisation range” for each sector within that budget set by the Minister, a process which is very clearly elaborated in the Bill.
Some #MythBusting on #cblive on this thread... We are net food importers, bringing in approx 1 tonne of food per person per yr, making us food INSECURE & at risk of extreme climate issues all over the world for our national food supply .
On Aviation, both Fine Gael and Sinn Féin aim to increase regional airports in their manifestos. Eoin O'B must have forgotten that.. #MythBusting#cblive
Only @greenparty_ie & @pb4p address aviation taxes in their manifestos, with PBP even going so far as charging 20% more for those who fly more than 4x per yr.
Thread: This article from amazing @sundaybusiness has bothered me all day. It's a very "glass more than half full" portrayal of the climate crisis that's unbecoming of a country's leader when so many are already suffering from #climatechange IMHO. So, I'm exploring the issue...1
@sundaybusiness Here's the quote: "Varadkar said it was “interesting to see that there can be pluses and minuses...One thing that we definitely face as a result of climate change is warmer winters. We’re already experiencing warmer winters, and that actually means using less energy because... 2
@sundaybusiness "...it’s warmer and people need less heating, and it also means fewer deaths as a result of cold weather” While there are more downsides than benefits, the upsides are there, he added..It’s interesting that when you do look at those things, that there is a ledger, and there are 2