Energy White Paper sets ambitious course for a carbon-free energy system

Energy Minister Alex White today published an energy White Paper, which identifies actions that will reduce Ireland’s energy-related carbon emissions by between 80% and 95%, compared to 1990 levels, by 2050. Minister White said that Ireland would eventually have to generate 100% of our energy needs from clean sources.Ireland’s Transition to a Low Carbon Energy Future 2015-2030 says that high-carbon fuels like peat and coal will give way to lower-carbon or renewable alternatives in the short to medium term, before fossil fuels are largely replaced by renewable energy sources by 2050. Greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector will “fall to zero or below by 2100″.