Local authorities told to switch to using electric vehicles

 

All local authorities in Ireland are being urged to switch to using electric vehicles immediately.
The government is being told to lead by example in the move towards low-carbon transport.
The Oireachtas transport committee will meet this morning to discuss the impact on transport on the environment.
In her testimony, Dr Laura Devaney, from DCU, will call on the government to provide low-carbon direction.
She wants the public-sector to lead by example and urges all local authorities to switch fleets to electrified alternatives.
Dr Devaney also calls on the civil service to give greater priority to low-carbon transition in their hiring, promotion and travel schemes.
Dr Diarmuid Torney, also from DCU, will claim the climate crisis poses a grave risk to the country’s future.
He says that at best, Ireland will achieve a 0.4-per-cent reduction in emissions, outside the sectors in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, by 2020 – compared to the decarbonisation target of 20 per cent.