December 21, 2022 View all news Reacting to the new Climate Action Plan published today, Friends of the Earth chief executive, Oisín Coghlan said:“Today’s plan is a step in the right direction. The real test now for the new Taoiseach and his ministers is to deliver at pace."2023 must see a laser-like focus on implementation, implementation, and implementation, not just from ministers and their departments but also from the state agencies they oversee from the CRU to Teagasc."It was striking to hear Taoiseach Leo Varadkar remind everyone at the launch of the plan that ministers now have individual legal liability to ensure the sectors they oversee are equipped to make the transformative change we need. And Táinaiste Micheál Martin restated his line from his speech at the COP that "as leaders we must lead."Ireland now has a solid platform for serious climate action, from the law to the carbon budgets to the sectoral emissions ceilings and now this first statutory action plan. What we need now is consistent political leadership and determination to implement this plan and actually reduce emissions in 2023. "If Irish emissions don’t start to fall rapidly in 2023, this Government’s carefully constructed credibility on climate will crumble.”Note:The Climate Action Plan is online here: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/7bd8c-climate-action-plan-2023/