A DEADLINE TO submit a draft energy plan to the EU by the end of this month will likely be missed as the Minister for Climate expects that the draft will only be published “later this year”.
EU member states are required to send a draft of their updated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) by 30 June before submitting a final version next year.
Under the plans, each country is required to outline how it will address decarbonisation, energy efficiency, energy security, internal energy market research, and innovation and competitiveness.
A parliamentary question asked Minister Eamon Ryan this week whether he plans to submit the draft NECP to the EU before 30 June.
The minister said that the Department of Environment aims to deliver the draft as close to the timeline as possible but that meeting the deadline will be challenging, and that it is aiming to publish a draft later this year.
However, he expects to meet a June 2024 deadline for the final version of the plan.
“Since the publication of the 2018 Regulation, new climate and energy regulations and targets have been introduced, which have dramatically changed the scope of the NECP,” Ryan said.
“Many of these changes in targets have been as a result of the unjustified Russian aggression against the sovereign state of Ukraine which caused an energy crisis across the EU and a subsequent EU-wide effort to accelerate the roll-out of renewable energy supply,” he said.
The minister labelled the NECP a “complex exercise involving multiple Departments and Agencies”.
“At this stage the Department is instituting the necessary tools and governance arrangements to ensure all the required data is gathered in an accurate and timely manner.
“The Department aims to deliver the draft as close to the timelines set in the Regulation as practicable, but with the pace of change of energy targets, meeting these deadlines will be challenging for all EU Member States.
“We are aiming to publish a draft NECP later this year prior to running a public consultation and carrying out the necessary environmental assessments. Regardless of the continuously evolving targets and complexities, I am hopeful that we will meet the deadline of June 2024 for publication of the final NECP.”
Countries originally submitted NECPs several years ago and are now preparing updated versions.
EU Commission analysis of Ireland’s first submission in 2020 identified strengths and weaknesses of the plan, including that Ireland had increased its ambition level for energy efficiency but that it remained low compared to the level of effort needed at EU level.
Sinn Féin climate justice spokesperson Senator Lynn Boylan said she is “deeply disappointed” that the draft deadline will be missed.
“This failure reflects a lack of commitment and urgency in addressing the pressing challenges posed by climate change and transitioning towards a sustainable future,” Boylan said in a statement.
The senator described the NECP as a “fundamental tool for tackling climate change, driving the energy transition, and meeting our international obligations” by providing a “comprehensive roadmap that guides us towards a low-carbon economy, renewable energy integration, and improved energy efficiency”.
“By missing this deadline, the government has demonstrated a disregard for the urgency of climate action and jeopardised our ability to combat the catastrophic impacts of climate change,” Boylan said.
The failure to deliver the NECP draft not only undermines our environmental commitments but also affects our energy security. Without a clear and comprehensive plan, we are left in more uncertainty, hindering investments in renewable energy, clean technologies, and sustainable infrastructure.
“This lack of strategic direction puts our country at a disadvantage, as we risk falling further behind in the global race towards a green economy.
“The government will cite the war in Ukraine as an excuse. It would be easier to accept that if Minister Ryan didn’t have a long track record of missing deadlines.
“I call upon Minister Ryan to urgently rectify this failure and provide a clear timeline for the delivery of the NECP draft. The people of this country deserve a government that takes their future seriously.”
The government already seriously missed a deadline to submit a long-term climate strategy to the EU after a binding regulation in 2018 that called for member states to develop 30-year strategies laying down how they plan to tackle the climate crisis.
Member states were given 13 months to compile their strategies and submit them to the European Commission by 1 January 2020.
It wasn’t until April 2023 that the government produced a draft version of its long-term strategy. A final version is still not expected until the end of this year.
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