Lack of government action on climate change could cost Ireland up to €26 billion, Labour research finds

The government’s lack of action on climate could cost the Irish taxpayer up to €26 billion, according to new research by Labour.

In its research published today, Labour climate spokesperson Ciaran Ahern said the government’s failure to even attempt to meet self-set targets on emissions, renewable energy, retrofitting and public transport “begs belief” and costs the taxpayer.

As Government Ministers attend COP31 next week, Ahern said Minister Darragh O’Brien should “show some humility” at COP and apologise to international partners as Ireland looks set to become the EU’s “poster child” for climate failure.

Ahern noted, “our analysis shows that we have a government that is not up to the job. It is failing to meet its own climate commitments, it is ignoring the recommendations of experts and we have a Minister who is failing to provide any leadership and failing to bring his colleagues with him in reducing our emissions and preserving our biodiversity,” he said.

The policy paper noted that when Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil entered into a coalition with the Green Party in 2020, the resulting Programme for Government made 148 commitments related to climate and the environment in its “Green New Deal” section.

Six years on, 61% of these actions have not been delivered, with many outright reneged upon.

The incumbent Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael/independent government also ignored 78% (150 out of 192) priority recommendations on the environment and climate action made by the Climate Change Advisory Council, SEAI, the European Commission and the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss.

“Across every metric, this government is failing to deliver on climate change. We have a government that knows what needs to be done, but is choosing to fail as climate continues to fall off the political agenda,” Ahern said.

Ahern, who won a seat in the 2024 general election following a nationwide swing from the Greens to Labour and the Social Democrats, has become Labour’s attack dog against the government’s apathy towards climate issues.

“Ireland’s poor performance on climate action is neither normal nor acceptable. We are outliers across our European peers, ranking among the bottom three EU countries from emissions to renewables to recycling to biodiversity, and more besides,” Ahern said.

Ahern noted that last week, the government announced a decision to repay €8 billion in loans received during the financial crisis ahead of schedule in order to save taxpayers €90 million, yet there is no action to safeguard the public from climate fines ranging anywhere between €8 billion to €26 billion.

“It simply doesn’t add up,” he said.

The Labour climate spokesperson said “we’ve just emerged from Ireland’s hottest summer on record. Earlier in the year Storm Chandra caused flooding across the country and last year’s Storm Eowyn was the worst storm we’ve experienced in decades.”

“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael need to recognise that Ireland’s climate patterns are changing and they have a responsibility to, at the very least, achieve their own targets. Climate change is a reality and it’s accelerating at a rapid pace. We need to see real leadership and action from Minister O’Brien now, for a future we can all afford.”

The report finds that Ireland is failing to meet targets for retrofitting homes, with only 18,765 heat pumps installed between 2018 and 2025, despite a target of having 400,000 installed by 2030.

Commercial bus journeys declined between 2018 and 2024.

Ireland is projected to generate just 824 megawatts in offshore wind energy by 2030, despite a target of 5GW.

The report also found that Ireland is failing to meet targets for reduced emissions, with every sector with its own emissions ceiling set to exceed it: agriculture, industry, electricity, transport, residential built environment, commercial built environment, and others (F-gases, waste, and petroleum).