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Prof. Brian Ó Gallachóir explains and calculates possible carbon budgets for Ireland
The recently published Climate Bill 2021 commits Ireland to pursue and achieve the transition to a climate neutral economy, by no later than the end of the year 2050. It further introduces a process for establishing five-yearly carbon budgets that will be proposed by the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC), finalised by the Minister for Climate and approved by the Government.
Here the term carbon budget is used to define the total amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that Ireland is permitted to emit during each five year period. Carbon budgets can be a useful way of providing short-term goals aligned with Ireland’s long-term target. The CCAC is tasked initially with proposing the first three carbon budgets, ie covering the periods 2021-2025, 2026-2030 and 2031-2035. This initial analysis focuses on Ireland’s first two carbon budgets, covering the period 2021-2030.
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