The government has published its latest Climate Action Plan Progress report, and the results do not make for great reading. Across the 73 actions listed 63 are marked as delayed.
The impact of these delays has been well discussed in the media and from the Climate Change Advisory Council already. But suffice to say, the picture is not one of a government taking climate action overly seriously and certainly not in a genuine whole of government manner.
Looking to the actions that relate specifically to the circular economy, there are 7 actions listed which range from construction materials, mining and raw materials to plastics. This is one area where the government can point to an achievement – the publication of the second Circular Economy roadmap, which was published earlier this year following a long consultation that started in 2025.
One action that stands out for VOICE however is the continued delay in the Single Use Cup Levy, which is dated as being complete by Q4 2024. The department notes that once again, the impact assessment has been carried out (we fed into this back in September 2025). Of course VOICE followers will know that this one has been announced, rowed back, and announced again numerous times over the last number of years. VOICE continue to call for the levy to be brought in as a key action in helping communities reduce the amount of litter they need to clean up and to reduce the waste we need to manage. Action on the levy not only reduces this well identified litter item, but in turn helps us to reduce overall waste and supports a move away from a single use economy.
Textiles are also behind schedule, though not by as much, with the roadmap for circular textiles published in April of 2026 with a view towards the effective separate collection for textiles and the introduction of an EPR by April 2028.
At a time when building and homes are so much to the fore in the public debate, the delayed publication of a circular roadmap for construction can only be described as a major omission. Construction and demolition waste accounts for not only the majority of waste in Ireland, but a sizable chunk of carbon emissions also. The issue of construction waste is one that is perhaps symptomatic of the slow movement by the government on climate action. The Irish Green Business Council have already produced a report and their guidelines on how to achieve a more sustainable future for the construction industry HERE, showcasing stakeholders in the industry taking the lead on the issue, but a lot of work yet to be done by the government in this space to lead real change.
And no doubt the government will point to the Publication of the CE plan 26-28 and say these actions are all included within that, and there is momentum coming and action on the way. However what this report shows us is a government that does not seem to be taking climate action seriously enough. Climate is a society wide problem, however we see in the list of actions published nearly 60% of all actions are in the Department of Environment and a quarter are with transport. Since the transport and environment portfolios have been under one TD since 2020, first under Eamonn Ryann and now Darragh O’Brien, this results in a siloed approach to the Climate Action Plan. The remainder of government is responsible for just 25% of the actions, and no actions lead by any other department are marked as completed.
How we use and consume things is one of the key drivers of not only climate, but biodiversity loss and of course pollution. A circular economy with community, health and environment at its core addresses each of the above crises. This is why we’ve seen again and again, communities taking leadership on these topics, but what is needed is national leadership to bring a whole of society effort. This is why waste is the theme of the upcoming COP discussions in Turkey; action on climate and circular economy are interlinked and support one another. A more sustainable future is one that values the resources we use and reduces the impact we have. This action plan assessment shows a lot of assessment but not very much action!
NOTES
https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/e23ebb44/Climate_Action_Plan_Q1__Q2_2026_Progress_Report_on_Legacy_Actions.pdf
see annex actions under CE/24/x
