Preventing climate change is at the heart of the Green Party’s principles

From its beginnings, the Green Party has led the way in climate politics in Ireland. As a political party we are unique in having the expertise and experience to implement the policy changes Ireland needs in order to respond to and mitigate climate change. All of our policies have been developed with this urgent need to take action in mind.

Climate action

• Implement fully the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
• Refocus national policy in order to reach the EU’s 2020 and 2030 emissions targets
• Promote climate justice throughout Irish and European policymaking

The Green Party believes that Ireland must lead the way in the fight against climate change. At present, Ireland is far behind in its emissions targets, and a laggard on climate action compared to other EU states. The Green Party wants to reverse this trend and reposition Ireland to lead on climate issues. By making changes now, we will ready our nation to take full advantage of the economic changes wrought as the international community responds to climate change.

Energy efficiency & demand reduction

• Incentivise the deep retrofit of buildings for energy efficiency
• Adopt building standards to ensure new builds are energy efficient
• Introduce smart grids, to better distribute variable energy supplies

We believe that our first priority must be to promote maximum efficiency in the energy we use. The lowest cost solution to climate change is to reduce the energy consumption required to heat our homes and water supplies. By improving the flexibility of the national grid, and allowing for small scale energy projects to feed into it, we will greatly reduce energy wastage and demand for new energy supplies.

Renewable energy & fossil fuels

• Transition to a 100% decarbonised power system
• Develop community energy schemes that provide dividends to their host neighbourhoods
• Divest the State completely from fossil fuels and ban further exploration or drilling

Central to the fight against climate change is the need for a revolution in the manner we generate energy and fuel our infrastructure. The Green Party supports a just transition to renewable energy as soon as possible. We believe our government must move away from fossil fuels and prevent any further development of Ireland’s fossil fuel reserves. We favour increased incentives for electric vehicle ownership as part of our strategy to develop and utilise renewable energy.

A Green economy

• Promote a circular economy which emphasises regenerating and recycling products through innovative indigenous companies
• Generate jobs through an expanded renewable energy sector

Ireland has the potential to benefit greatly from the new green economy which is developing across the world. The Green Party is in favour of targeted investment in green technologies, which will provide sustainable growth while also preserving our environment. We want to support innovative companies that will expand our reclamation and waste reduction industries.