OIL FREE

BY 2030
Living well without the oil well: towards
an oil free Ireland by 2030

vote.greenparty.ie

RENEWING
IRELAND
ON FEB 25TH
VOTE GREEN
Briefing note

Living well without the oil well: towards an oil free Ireland by 2030

Our dependence on oil is an expensive habit, costing us over €6bn per year. It also
damages the environment and increases our carbon emissions. Most importantly, oil is a
finite resource. We know that we are nearing peak oil production and that a sharp decline in
reserves will follow. We are therefore compelled to plan for the future, we have a duty to
secure our energy independence for future generations.

The implementation of Green Party policy over the past three and a half years has already
set us on the road to achieving an oil free economy. We have instigated a series of initiatives
aimed at securing the future of Ireland’s energy supplies and positioning Ireland as a world
leader in green, home-grown energy.
By phasing out our use of oil, Ireland can secure our energy supply, rebuild our economy
and promote the development of sound growth driven by new environmentally friendly
technologies and creating new business opportunities for Irish industry.
In short, the phase-out of oil can secure Ireland's position as one of the world’s leading
nations in sustainable development.
As part of the next government, the Green Party will roll out a strategy to set Ireland on the
road to being an oil free economy by 2030.

Peak Oil
The Green Party has warned for quite some time now that we are close to reaching peak oil.
Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is
reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline.
The Green Party believes that the onset of peak oil represents an opportunity for Ireland to
utilise the bountiful natural resources available to us to become an oil free economy.

Commission for Oil Independence

As a first step, we would established a Commission for Oil Independence comprising
members from key government departments, academia, industry and civil society. An
Taoiseach would head the Commission.
The Commission will be tasked with developing a set of clear and achievable proposals to
realise the goal of an oil free Ireland by 2030. The Commission with deliver these strategies
within six months of its establishment.
The Commission will be drawn from existing resources within key government departments,
and participants from other sectors will participate in a voluntary capacity. No additional
costs will be incurred by the taxpayer.

A Road Map to Oil Independence:

Key policy initiatives to achieve and Oil Free Ireland

1. World Leader in Renewable Energy

The Green Party has been responsible for a doubling in the amount of wind energy on the
national grid since 2007. The targets we set in relation to renewable for 2010 have already
been surpassed, with over 15% of electricity from renewable sources, making us second in
Europe for wind power. We have also ensured that Ireland is on course to exceed our
targets for 2020.
The Green Party believes that we can do more than reach our renewable energy targets –
we can surpass them. Above and beyond our current target of 33% by 2020, we believe it is
feasible to generate 42% of our electricity from renewable sources by that date. This will be
one of the highest levels of renewable electricity in the world.

2. Cleaner, Smarter Transport

With oil reaching a price of $104 per barrel last week – a new high in two years – it is clear
that we cannot continue to have our transport systems dependent on imported fossil-fuels.

Ninety nine percent of our transport energy use in 2009 was dependent on oil products, all of
which were imported. We have a high dependence on the private car as a mode of
transport. We also have a legacy of poor planning and urban sprawl that will leave us highly
vulnerable to a sustained rise in oil prices. It is against this backdrop that the Green Party
advocates investment in environmentally sustainable transport modes.

Electric Vehicles

The Green Party in Government have set in motion an ambitious plan for Electric Vehicles,
with achievable targets of 10% of electric Vehicles by 2020. We would maintain supports
such as VRT rebates and grant aid to promote this technology.

Public Transport

The majority of our capital investing in coming years must focus on public transport.There
have been significant improvements to Ireland’s road network in the last five years, with
motorways linking our main cities and towns. 76% of Transport 21 funding to date has been
invested in roads, with only 24% going to public transport. The Green Party will reverse this
trend, investing in public transport over roads by a ratio of 3:1.

In tandem with that shift in investment in favour of public transport, we also need to 'green'
our public transport fleet.

Alternative Fuels

We must examine the possibility for large-scale production of new, domestic biofuels from
forests and fields that can play a major contribution in our switch away from oil.

3. Zero Carbon Buildings

The Green Party has worked tirelessly to ‘green’ Ireland’s housing stock, to make our homes
more energy efficient, and therefore cheaper to run. We have already introduced new
building regulations which saw a 40 per cent improvement in energy efficiency and a 40 per
cent reduction in CO2 emissions for new homes in 2008.
But in order to work towards our goal of oil independence we want to build on this success
and implement a range of new measures that will including the introduction of a Zero Carbon
Standard for new homes by 2013 and for all other new buildings by 2016 and the
development of urban district heating networks.