Climate action: misunderstandings, myths and the need to focus on a switch to renewables

Ireland's Renewable Imperative

Ireland's energy mix remains dominated by fossil fuels, with 78% of energy derived from them as of 2024, leaving renewables at only 22%. Despite decades of awareness about the climate crisis, progress has stalled: fossil fuel use rose until 2007, fell to 2014, and has since plateaued, while efforts centred on efficiency improvements and demand-side measures have delivered limited results.

The stakes are high and immediate. Ireland's legally binding national target under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act requires a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 from 2018 levels, yet Environmental Protection Agency projections indicate at best a 23% cut even with full implementation of measures. This shortfall extends to EU obligations: the country is off track for the 42% reduction mandated under the Effort Sharing Regulation, and risks missing binding renewable energy shares under the revised Renewable Energy Directive. Non-compliance could trigger fines running into billions of euros, alongside statistical transfers or other costly remedies to meet targets.

Real-world impacts are already evident. Households and businesses face volatile energy prices influenced by global fossil fuel markets, while sectors like agriculture, transport, and buildings struggle with sectoral ceilings. Data centres, now consuming a significant and growing portion of electricity—projected to reach 31% by 2034—exacerbate grid strain, prompting new policies requiring large energy users to match demand with additional renewables. Offshore wind projects, such as the €13 billion Tonne Nua development set to power nearly 1 million homes, represent concrete steps, but deployment delays threaten the 80% renewable electricity goal by 2030.

Non-obvious tensions persist. Many climate actions, such as home retrofits or public transport shifts, target low-energy users and yield single-digit percentage savings at best. Switching to electric vehicles or heat pumps powered by a still fossil-heavy grid can inadvertently increase overall emissions when full-system efficiencies are accounted for. The core challenge lies in substituting renewables directly for fossil fuels across all end-uses, not merely electrifying demand. This shift clashes with grid infrastructure bottlenecks, planning delays, and the need for massive investment in generation and networks amid competing priorities like economic competitiveness and energy security.