The European Commission 'Country Report Ireland 2015', published today states: “Ireland is not on track to reach its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets. It is committed to reducing its GHG emissions in the non emissions trading system sector by 20% between 2005 and 2020. According to the latest national projections it is likely to miss this target by a wide margin, with the authorities expecting emissions to decrease only by 3% in 2020 compared with 2005.”

New science in the fifth IPCC assessment shows that the amount of future global warming is directly related to the total amount of accumulating human-caused emissions of greenhouse gase—past, present, and future, they all add up. If our emissions continue to rise then temperatures will continue to rise, extreme weather will be more frequent, sea level will rise ever faster, and more land and sea ice will be lost. Only sustained and substantial emission reductions by all nations, especially by wealthy ones like Ireland, can limit climate change and reduce future severe risks to our future.