The Climate Action Plan 2024 envisaged the public sector leading by example on climate action to reach the target of reducing Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030 and becoming climate neutral no later than 2050. The newly published Climate Action Plan 2024 wants to strengthen these efforts and build on this momentum which will set a course for Ireland to reach its targets. The Climate Action Plan 2024 is the third annual update to Ireland’s Climate Action Plan 2019 and the second to be prepared under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021. This Act gives legal underpinning to climate action by the public sector. It requires all public bodies to perform their functions in a manner consistent with national climate ambitions.
To support public sector bodies in leading by example, a Public Sector Climate Action Mandate applies to public bodies covered by the Climate Action Plan (CAP) decarbonisation targets. The Mandate highlights the main climate action objectives for public bodies and is reviewed annually. The current Public Sector Climate Action Mandate was reviewed and updated as part of the preparation for Climate Action Plan 2024 (CAP24) and was approved by Government in December 2023. This updated Climate Action Roadmap for the Central Statistics Office sets out an analysis of progress to date and identifies current and planned actions. The CSO is committed to making progress annually on our use of energy and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.