21 Feb 18
News

Ireland might ban petrol and diesel by 2030

Cooley Peninsula

The Irish government has announced plans to improve the country's air quality and turn the island into a low-carbon economy by 2050. The plans calls for €22 billion investments.

The transport sector will need to make the largest contribution to the efforts. In its report, the government states that transport accounts for 20% of Ireland's overall emissions, 52% of which coming from private cars, 24% from freight and 4% from public transport.

For the plan to succeed, Ireland needs to extend its charging network to meet the demands of the growing fleet of electric vehicles. The target is to have at least half a million EVs in the country by 2030. By the same year, the government want to ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles.

A similar ban has been announced by the UK and France, although these countries set a target year of 2040. Ireland aims for a decade earlier, at the same time as their Celtic brothers in Scotland. However, the practicality of an earlier ban in Scotland from the rest of the UK remains uncertain.

Photo: traffic in Ireland, Cooley Peninsula

Authored by: Benjamin Uyttebroeck