Government reforms will seek to curb car parking where public transport options exist and reduce the distance driven by motorists by a fifth as part of a drive to reduce emissions.
The Cabinet is set to consider the updated climate action plan, which contains changes designed to give effect to the Government’s political promises on climate.
This will include public sector car parking space reduction, removing car parking requirements and moving to market pricing for car parking, as well as reducing on-street parking in favour of active travel [walking, wheeling, cycling and using a non-motorised scooter] and public transport. All of these will be considered where there is good public transport.
Emissions targets
The reforms are likely to place increased political focus on the choices about urban design and transport which are implied by the Coalition’s plans.
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The plan aims to accelerate delivery of emissions targets, with the aim of reducing them by 51 per cent by the end of the decade and net zero by 2050.
While they are not measures to be implemented, modelling done to underpin big emissions reductions outlines some measures that could be considered. These include car-free urban centres, road-space reallocation, increasing the availability of rural transport and reducing fares. The modelling also encompasses measures to disincentivise car use like removing free workplace parking, minimum parking charges in urban areas, application of congestion charges for journeys across marked cordons and also considers the impact of an increase in fuel costs.
Sources said that measures are being considered to improve the national infrastructure for electric vehicle (EV) charging, including a residential sharing scheme and a pilot programme for a shared charging smartphone app, as well as regional and local authority-level plans for accessible and low-cost charging.
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Financial incentives for EV purchase will be reviewed, with a plan for an “en route” high-powered charging network, while a scheme for so-called “destination charge points” is to be developed in the likes of sports clubs, community centres and state-operated visitor sites.
Meanwhile, there will be a push to drive down the total amount of driving done across society, with a target for 2030 of a 20 per cent reduction in total vehicle kilometres, car kilometres and “commuting” car kilometres. In addition, there is an aim to reduce 50 per cent reduction in fuel usage.
The goal will also be to shift some behaviours to public transport or active or sustainable travel. By 2025, the aim will be an additional 125,000 sustainable transport journeys, ramping up in the following five years with an aim of a 50 per cent increase in daily active travel journeys, a 130 per cent increase in daily public transport journeys and a 25 per cent reduction in daily car journeys.
Electric vehicles
Meanwhile, the plan will seek 175,000 passenger EVs on the road by 2025, with a 30 per cent share of the fleet by 2030 — when it is hoped that all new registrations will be electric. For commercial vehicles, 20,000 vans are targeted to be on the road by 2025, with 95,000 commercial electric vehicles driving by 2030.
Nearly one in three private cars will be electric by 2030 under the plan, while solar photovoltaic panels will be installed on all new residential and public buildings and schools where possible by the middle of the decade. There are afforestation rates of 8,000 hectares per year from next year, aiming to deliver an additional 28,000 hectares by 2025, while a new green electricity tariff will be developed by 2025 to incentivise people to use lower-cost renewable electricity.
Shared micro-mobility schemes, such as electrified scooters, will be scoped out in the Greater Dublin Area, with subsequent implementation around the country, while incentives are to be developed for e-cargo and e-bikes as an alternative to car use, and bike-sharing schemes will be expanded.
Local and regional light rail and commuter link programmes will also be central to the plan.
