National Sustainable Mobility Policy

At a national level, this Strategy will support the achievement of objectives on climate. It will also contribute positively to a variety of policies in the transport domain such as policy on sustainable mobility, freight and road safety. The key polices and their relevance is set out below:

To realise the abatement required, CAP23 identified the need to reduce vehicle kilometres travelled by 20% relative to what would otherwise be expected under a business-as-usual approach. It included a specific action to support this target through the development of a national demand management strategy.

Climate Action Plan

As the population continues to grow, reducing travel demand will become increasingly important. The development and implementation of this Strategy thus form crucial elements of our decarbonisation pathway and fulfills the commitment to develop a national demand management strategy as per CAP23.

The challenge that Ireland faces to comply with national climate targets cannot be overstated. Climate Action Plan 2023 (CAP23), which was the first statutory Climate Action Plan that incorporated both the economy-wide targets and legally binding sectoral emission ceilings under the provisions of the Climate Action and Low- Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021, brought a renewed focus to the need for systemic action, at all levels of Government. Transport is particularly challenging. Emissions from the sector had been steadily rising over 2021 and 2022 at a rate of approximately 6% per annum, reflecting the strength of the economy, full employment, and continued population growth in Ireland. This trend peaked in 2023 and 2024 will be the first year since COVID where transport emissions have reduced by 1.2% despite continued economic growth.

Corrective Action Modelling Project

The Department of Transport and the NTA are undertaking a transport modelling and appraisal exercise (the Corrective Actions Modelling Project) to revise and recalibrate the modelling that was completed for CAP23, and to re-assess and strengthen the decarbonisation policy pathway for transport to 2030. The objective of this project is to develop clear policy pathways for adhering to carbon budget ceilings in transport over the coming years (for more detail on this project see ‘Modelling for CAP’ in Chapter 8).

CAP23 recognises that achieving our climate ambition will require a multi-faceted, integrated, and interdependent combination of measures – measures that can change long-established patterns and preferences in how and where we travel, while also addressing many potential factors that influence transport decisions. To this end, CAP23 applied an Avoid-Shift-Improve lens to the range of measures being progressed under the Plan. CAP24 and CAP25 have continued to build on the policy shift set out in CAP23.

Without the effective and early implementation of the measures envisaged in this Strategy, it is highly unlikely that transport emissions will fall within the sectoral emissions ceilings over the period out to 2030. Further iterations of the Climate Action Plan will reflect the implementation path for this Strategy.

National Sustainable Mobility Policy

While Government will continue to support and prioritise ‘Improve’ measures related to electrification of the vehicle fleet and higher penetration levels of renewable transport fuels in the fuel mix, these measures alone will not deliver the emissions abatement required for the transport sector — more corrective action is required. Under the decarbonisation pathway set out by CAP23 and subsequent Plans, approximately 2 MtCO2eq./year (or roughly 25%) of emissions abatement will have to be achieved through ‘Avoid’ and ‘Shift’ measures by 2030. This level of abatement may even be higher when work is undertaken to update and recalibrate the emissions trajectory to 2030.

The National Sustainable Mobility Policy (SMP), which was published in April 2022, sets out a strategic framework to 2030 for active travel (walking and cycling) and public transport journeys to help Ireland meet its climate obligations.

Action Plans under the SMP support a wide range of interventions including, among other things, public transport infrastructure and services, active travel promotion and supports, road safety initiatives, legislative measures, research, and public engagement. The Policy also supports the implementation of large-scale transport projects including MetroLink and DART+ in Dublin,