The surge in car ownership in recent years has been a big factor in boosting Ireland's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to more than double their 1990 levels, according to a new report on energy efficiency in the transport sector.
It said transport now accounts for 30 per cent of the State's energy consumption, up from 22 per cent in 1990. Private cars are responsible for 40 per cent of the total, with other road vehicles, such as trucks, accounting for a similar proportion.
The report, published by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI), reveals that up to 441,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions could be avoided if the average annual mileage in private cars was reduced from 20,000 kilometres to 18,000.
"Measures that could be introduced to achieve such a reduction could include incentives for teleworking [working from home, or remote working\], parking tax and congestion charges. Of course, such measures would need to work hand in hand with improved public transport options."
The report says transport has been by far the fastest-growing energy end-use sector in Ireland over the period 1990-2001, with average annual growth of 7.1 per cent. It also accounted for 26 per cent of CO2 emissions - up from 17 per cent in 1990.
Under the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, Ireland's target is to limit annual greenhouse gas emissions to 13 per cent above 1990 levels by 2010.
However, it is projected that, unless action is taken, transport-related CO2 emissions will rise to 180 per cent above 1990 levels by 2010.
SEI's chief executive, Mr David Taylor, said: "While we have seen substantial growth in Ireland's energy use over the last decade, trends in transport are giving the greatest cause for concern. The most significant single influence has been the activity level of the economy."
This had led to an increase in the number of cars on the road, from 0.8 million in 1990 to 1.3 million in 2001. There was also a significant move during the 1990s towards larger cars that consume more energy, offsetting improvements in energy efficiency.
Noting that an EU directive now required new cars to be labelled for fuel economy and CO2 emissions, the report says such emissions could be reduced by up to 53,000 tonnes if even 10 per cent of car buyers shifted to more energy-efficient models.
