The “streamlined” plan, intended to be read in conjunction with the 2024 plan, is the third statutory update to Ireland’s climate action plan since the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 was signed into law.

The 2021 Act commits Ireland to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 51 per cent by 2030 (relative to 2018 levels) and achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

Climate, environment and energy minister Darragh O’Brien said: “It’s 10 years since we signed the original Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act into law in 2015.

“Climate action has to be seen in that context — years of ambition and hard work have led us to a point where we are finally starting to see meaningful reductions in emissions in Ireland. In 2023, emissions reduced by 6.8 per cent.

“Producing an annual update to the climate action plan allows us to take stock each year to see how we’re doing. Climate Action Plan 2025 is the latest response to that stocktake.

“But climate action is happening up and down the country every day, with retrofitting and more energy efficient homes, thereby reducing energy bills, with more reliable Local Link bus services connecting towns across Ireland, and more home-grown wind power — driving energy security.

“This is my first climate action plan as minister for climate, environment and energy. Having seen first-hand how climate action improves the quality of life of citizens and the natural environment of the State, I look forward to continuing with that ambition into the years ahead.”

However, Friends of the Earth Ireland has warned that Ireland is not currently on track to meet its 2025 and 2030 emissions targets.

Seán McLoughlin, the NGO’s climate policy campaigner, said: “The 2025 climate action plan does not put Ireland on a clear path to meeting climate obligations, despite the government’s re-stating of its commitment to meeting legally-binding carbon budgets.

“It largely ignores the twin elephants in the room: runaway data centre expansion and escalating reliance on fossil fuel infrastructure, particularly gas. It does not take the steps necessary to bring Ireland into line with binding climate limits and appears to allow more polluting infrastructure.

“Despite the programme for government’s pledge to develop data centres ‘in alignment with our decarbonisation objectives’, this plan fails to lay out a credible path towards curbing their runaway growth in electricity demand.

“The government must respond to the fact that the continued expansion of data centres is threatening our carbon budgets, driving up household energy bills and increasing reliance on fossil fuels, leading to rising emissions, while households and communities work hard to reduce theirs.

“The government should halt the approval of additional data centres until an appropriate policy regime is introduced to address the significant threats they pose to our climate and energy security.

“The plan also states that the upcoming data centre connection policy will decarbonise ‘new demand in line with climate targets’. Yet the energy regulator in its recent proposed decision on this very policy has contended that the Climate Act does not provide it with ‘a sufficient legal basis’ to mandate emissions reductions.”