Ireland

Ireland ranks 33rd in this year’s CCPI, down four places from last year but still among the medium performers. The country receives a medium rating in Renewable Energy and Energy Use, but a low in GHG Emissions and Climate Policy.

In 2022, Ireland’s government introduced legally binding 5-year carbon budgets and sectoral emissions ceilings. There is a legislative framework with annually revised Climate Action Plans, to align with the country’s 2030 net emissions reduction target of 51% (compared with 2018) and reach climate neutrality by 2050.

Despite these legal requirements, the CCPI country experts note that progress on climate action is slowing and that actions are nowhere near sufficient for ensuring compliance with national and EU commitments. The latest projections (July 2025) from the country’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) highlight that the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions decline rate has slowed to 2% compared with last year’s 6.8%. This lack of substantial progress makes it unlikely that Ireland will satisfy its first carbon budget for 2021–2025. The data indicates that, in 2021–2024, Ireland used 82.5% of that budget. As a result, an extremely challenging annual 10.3% reduction is required in 2025 if Ireland is to remain within its legally binding budget.

Far short on annual GHG emissions projections while solar incentives are decreasing

This year’s EPA emissions projection report indicated that Ireland has gone backwards in its actions to tackle polluting emissions. The report predicts, at best, a 23% reduction by 2030, vs the 29% reduction projected last year and much lower than the 51% commitment enshrined in climate law. Ireland’s failure to speed up action means it’s also not on course to meet its obligations under the EU Effort Sharing, Energy Efficiency, and Renewable Energy Directives by 2030, and this could result in billions of euros in non-compliance penalties.

Ireland’s Climate Action Plan targets generating 80% of the country’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Although the government held auctions in 2024 under the Renewable Energy Support Scheme, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) noted this target is now unlikely to be met because of project delays and immense growth in electricity demand.

The auctions are proving effective, as Ireland’s solar capacity had grown from 0.68 GW in 2023 to 1.76 GW as of May 2025. However, the experts criticise the rollback of the Microgeneration Support Scheme, which was set to decline by EUR 300 per year; in 2023, the maximum grant was EUR 2,400, then by 2025, it dropped to EUR 1,800 and by 2028, it will decline to just EUR 900. Meanwhile, the average cost of installing a residential solar power system remains around EUR 10,900, according to SEAI data. Eroding financial support disproportionately affects those who would benefit most from lower energy bills: lower-income households, families in energy poverty, and those living in rural areas or older homes with higher heating needs. Similarly, despite recently increased funding for retrofitting of public housing, measures are desperately needed for prioritising retrofitting for vulnerable and marginalised groups, such as renters and many rural households.

Coal phase-out completed though door still open for LNG, as data centre power demand keeps rising

The experts report that coal has now been completely phased out of Ireland’s electricity system, as the Moneypoint Power Station has ceased burning coal and will operate solely as a ‘backup, out-of-market generator’ using heavy oil to generate electricity until 2029. The gas infrastructure situation is extremely problematic. The experts note that the government risks further locking in an even greater dependency on long-term fossil fuel use, in contravention of climate law, by approving a state-led LNG terminal for emergencies while at the same time leaving the door open for a commercial LNG terminal.

As in previous years, the experts address the extreme pressure posed by the huge projected increase in electricity demand, expected to rise by up to 50% in the next decade. Data centres are expected to make up 25–33% of this demand by 2030, and they already account for over 20%. Connecting all proposed data centres to the grid would prevent Ireland from meeting its targeted 51% emissions reduction by 2030. Although new regulations have been proposed for data centre locations, grid connections, and on-site generation, the energy regulator’s dismissal of climate obligations, coupled with the government’s continued support for new data centre construction, risks increasing reliance on gas-fired electricity generation. The demand from these centres also is outpacing the development of new renewable energy sources and pushing up electricity costs.

High quality climate finance for SIDS and LDCs, but more L&D financing needed for fair share

Internationally, Ireland’s annual climate finance contributions have been growing incrementally each year. The vast majority of Ireland’s climate finance is channelled toward Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The experts welcome Ireland’s engaging consistently and transparently with stakeholders from SIDS and LDC civil society. However, they criticise Ireland still not providing its fair share of climate finance annually. While Christian Aid Ireland and Trócaire have calculated that Ireland’s fair share of the existing USD 100 billion adaptation and mitigation climate finance target is around EUR 500 million per year, Ireland is only aiming for EUR 225 million annual climate finance spend by 2025. The experts also call on Ireland to make a specific commitment to financing the newly recognised, additional ‘third pillar’ of climate finance – loss and damage (L&D) – consistent with Ireland’s fair share of the global effort needed. Christian Aid Ireland and Trócaire have calculated Ireland’s fair share of this new L&D finance will be at least EUR 1.5 billion per year by 2030. Though the overall climate finance amount is still too low, the aid quality is considered excellent, as it is based on grants rather than loans.

The experts demand introduction of a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuel subsidies – something still delayed and with no estimated publication date. They also call for an additional sectoral emissions ceiling under the Climate Action Plan for GHG emissions from the land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF) sector, to cover the full domestic economy-wide sector of GHG emissions.

Key Outcomes

CCPI experts

National experts that contributed to the policy evaluation of this year’s CCPI chose to remain anonymous.