Industry greenhouse gas emissions forecast to rise, says climate council

The Republic’s industries are forecast to increase their climate-harming greenhouse gas emissions over the next few years, when they are meant to be falling. Milk and dairy factories are of particular concern, with a report from the Government’s advisory body, the Climate Change Advisory Council, showing emissions from milk production grew by 4.8 per cent last year and dairy processing by 3.6 per cent. Industry overall had a modest reduction in emissions, possibly as much as 3.9 per cent according to provisional figures. But anticipated growth in activity in several sectors, including construction, is expected to wipe out that progress.READ MORE“It is not expected that emissions are going to reduce between 2025 and 2030. In fact, they are expected to increase slightly,” the council said. “Industry has missed its reduction target for 2025 and is projected to miss it again by 2030.” [ Do data centres pay their own way? The answer is not straightforwardOpens in new window ]The 2030 target is a 35 per cent reduction in emissions compared with 2018. Industry is at 15.9 per cent below 2018 levels, but that is expected to slip to 11.6 per cent by 2030. The State as a whole has a 50 per cent reduction target but is on course to achieve at best 29 per cent.“The projections are a clear warning that the measures currently planned are not enough to deliver the change needed by the end of this decade,” said council member Jillian Mahon. “We need to remove the barriers that are slowing transition.” Barriers include a lack of renewable energy options for industries to switch from oil and gas. Electricity cannot produce the very high temperatures needed for many industrial processes, but little of the alternative – renewable gas in the form of biomethane – is available. Plans to build scores of anaerobic digester plants to produce biomethane from agricultural and food waste are far behind schedule.The council said “immediate and sustained action” was needed to get biomethane production on track. Another issue is insufficient regulation to ensure low-carbon cement and concrete – achieved by using less clinker in its manufacture – is used in construction. Cement producers make up four of the country’s five largest emitting industrial plants after the largest emitter, Aughinish Alumina. Their emissions dropped by 3.6 per cent last year but production is forecast to grow to 2030, potentially cancelling out those reductions. A similar lack of regulatory support for the use of timber in place of concrete in construction is highlighted. While more timber-framed houses are being built, timber is still rare in large construction projects. The council also expresses concern at the levels of waste generated from Irish industry, with waste volumes growing 20 per cent in a decade, recycling rates flatlining and landfills adding to greenhouse gas emissions through the release of methane. The report also says the Government needs to introduce regulations to allow for carbon capture and storage (CCS). [ Dublin Airport carbon emissions set to surge after passenger cap removedOpens in new window ]CCS uses technologies that capture carbon emissions at source before they enter the atmosphere and convert the gas to storable forms. Various technologies are under development worldwide, although they have yet to prove large-scale effectiveness. The report also assesses how prepared industries are to deal with the impacts of climate change, especially drought affecting water supplies. It says the Department of Enterprise, Enterprise Ireland, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, the Sustainable Banking Corporation of Ireland, employers’ group Ibec and Uisce Éireann should do more to help small and medium-sized enterprises become climate resilient. It adds that the Government should begin a dialogue with industry associations on the risks facing the Irish economy from supply chain disruption due to climate impacts in other countries.