2.2 Climate Action Plan 2023

2.2 Climate Action Plan 2023

The Climate Action Plan 2023 (CAP), published in December 2022, is the second annual update to Ireland’s Climate Action Plan. CAP2023 sets out a roadmap of actions in various sectors, including transport to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51percent by 2030 (relative to 2018 levels) and reach net zero emissions no later than 2050. The accompanying Annex of actions will be published later in 2023. The 2023 plan is the first to be prepared under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021, following the introduction of economy-wide carbon budgets and sectoral emissions ceilings approved by Government in 2022.

The Government recognises that there are transformational and unprecedented systems and behavioural change required to deliver transport sector emissions reductions. Transport is identified in the CAP as a sector required to reduce emissions by 50 percent by 2030. The CAP supports policies to transform how society travels and to reduce transport emissions by adopting the Avoid-Shift-Improve approach. This approach involves reducing or avoiding the need to travel (e.g., through land-use planning) and where travel is still required, shifting to sustainable modes of travel, and improving the energy efficiency of vehicles (e.g., by using clean fuels).

CAP 2023 specifies numerous measures and actions required to support the Avoid Shift Improve approach. These range from developing updated standards, support for active travel projects, delivering greenway schemes, working collaboratively with stakeholders and engaging the public on climate action and sustainable mobility.

Some of the actions relevant to road transport include:

»Change the way road space is used (i.e., reallocation of road space to sustainable modes) »Reduce demand/the total distance driven across all car journeys by 20 percent »Increase walking, cycling and public transport to account for 50 percent of all journeys »Support for nearly 1 in 3 private vehicles to be electric vehicles by 2030 »Increase the walking and cycling network »Increase rural transport bus services

NR2040 has been developed in alignment with CAP.