The updated Climate Action Plan, published on Wednesday, sets ambitious emissions reductions targets across six "high-impact" sectors by the end of the decade as part of the state's ongoing commitment to halve emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050.

Launching the plan, the government said emissions reductions of 75% would be required by electricity providers over the next eight years, along with reductions of 45% for commercial/public buildings and 40% for residential buildings.

The plan targets emissions reductions by 2030 of 50% in the transport sector, 35% in industry, and 25% in agriculture which, if achieved, would represent remarkable turnarounds from current projections. The plan also urges the acceleration of efforts to use land "more effectively" to capture and store carbon.

The Environmental Protection Agency warned in June that unless all climate plans and policies were urgently implemented, plus further new measures, Ireland would not meet its 2030 50% emissions reduction target, with greenhouse gas emissions having increased 6% in 2021.

The EPA forecast that emissions in agriculture, responsible for 43.4% of Ireland's total emissions, would increase 1.9% in the coming years. Similarly, emissions from transport, responsible for 19.7% of Irish emissions, are projected to rise 0.6% by 2030.

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The government hopes to achieve the targeted quarter reduction in agriculture emissions through heavily reduced use of chemical nitrogen as fertiliser, full uptake of protected areas on grassland farms, and increasing organic farming to 450,000 hectares and tillage up to 400,000 hectares.

It has also outlined plans to expand the indigenous biomethane sector through anaerobic digestion reaching up to 5.7TWh of biomethane and delivering land for afforestation and reducing the management intensity of organic soils.

“We need to accelerate progress through reduced application of nitrogen based fertilisers, replacing them with protected urea and reducing the age of cattle finishing," said Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue.

"I recognise that achieving this ambition will not be without its challenges and that significant and transformational change will be required."

The 50% transport emissions target is underpinned by goals of walking, cycling and public transport accounting for 50% of journeys, facilitated by new walking and cycling networks, and a third of private vehicles being electric.

"The transport chapter of this updated plan will build on the high level of increased investment that has gone into public transport and active travel modes to date," said Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan.

"It sets out a pragmatic and much needed vision for transforming how we travel, to cut emissions, and connect our communities via better public transport both in urban and rural areas. It acknowledges that while we need to electrify our transport system, we can also improve our wellbeing by reducing the need to travel in the first place and switching to sustainable modes where possible."

Plans for 'green' business and enterprise and reduce emissions by 35% include lowering clinker content in cement and using lower carbon content products for construction materials, reducing fossil fuel use to 45% by 2025, and increasing the share of carbon-neutral heating to 70-75% by 2030 while growing the circular economy and the bioeconomy.

The targeted 75% reduction in emissions from electricity would be derived from accelerated delivery of onshore and offshore wind and solar electricity projected, with the government aiming for up to 9GW of onshore wind, 8GW of solar, and 7GW of offshore wind generation capacity this decade.

It also aims to support 500MW in local community-based renewable energy projects while ending the use of coal and peat electricity generation, supported by the introduction of a Green Electricity Tariff to incentivise the use of renewable energy at times of high wind and solar generation.

There has also been a target set for 70% of people living in rural Ireland to have buses that provide at least three daily trips to the nearby town by 2030.

The plan aims to reduce emissions in commercial/public (-45%) and residential (-40%) buildings by retrofitting 500,000 dwellings to BER B2 by 2030, while installing heat pumps at 680,000 existing and new homes over the same period.

No percentage figures for emissions reduction through changes in land use have yet been set, but in addition to afforestation, carbon sequestration. and reduced management intensity targets, the state also aims to rehabilitate 77,600 hectares of peatlands.

“We find ourselves at a moment of real opportunity for our country, and for the planet. Climate change is the most pressing long term global challenge of our time and Ireland is facing up to that challenge," said Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

"We should not see climate action as an obligation or a burden. We should embrace it as an opportunity. It's about warmer homes, cleaner air, fewer journeys, less time commuting, more remote and home working, more jobs and regional development.

“We should be the generation that turns the tide on climate change and biodiversity loss, and leaves the planet to the next generation in a better condition than we inherited it. Within a generation, Ireland can become energy independent by harnessing our untapped renewable energy resources."

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said the war in Ukraine had "underlined the need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, a central objective of the Climate Action Plan.

"Ireland must be at the vanguard of the noticeable step-up in climate ambition that is underway across the EU."

Other actions outlined in the plan include the a 51% reduction in emissions and a 50% improvement in energy efficiency in the public sector by next year, a citizen engagement programme to inform climate policy, the €169m Just Transition Fund for peatlands in the midlands, and the implementation of the €65m National Challenge Fund for green research.

Reacting to the publication, Wind Energy Ireland CEO Noel Cunniffe said implementing the wind energy targets must be a "top priority" for the government and that support would be required from across society.

“If we succeed we will build an Ireland that is energy independent, delivering warmer homes, cleaner air and tens of thousands of new jobs, a leader in the fight against climate change and a better country in which to grow old and in which to raise our families," he added.

Tim Cullinan, president of the Irish Farmers Association, said farmers were well placed to meet demand for Irish food in an "environmentally efficient manner," but warned that emissions could not be reduced "at the expense of farmers’ livelihoods or by reducing in output."

“When we met the Minister for Agriculture last week, we made it clear that IFA is willing to engage further to try and find agreement around a Climate Action Plan for the sector which can continue to facilitate the sustainable development of our sector,” he said.

“The debate has become unnecessarily divisive with far too much focus on cattle numbers. The focus must be on reducing emissions, not on reducing cattle numbers."

Detailed plans or implementation of the actions laid out in the updated plan will be published in an annex early next year.

(Pic: Getty Images)