Moscow\u2019s ability to sell more to the world than it buys means it\u2019s weathering sanctions<\/a> far better than expected. Its economy will grow this year while Germany\u2019s shrinks<\/a>, the International Monetary Fund estimates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can see from the table below, the vast bulk of Ireland\u2019s imports of refined oil products in 2018 came from Britain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also see from the table that Russia is a large individual supplier to Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n But even if Ireland was not at all reliant on Russian oil, it is still useful for us to reduce our usage so that other countries supplies can be used to fuel developing nations. Because if you restrict access to energy in areas that are rapidly developing, you actually kill people. Energy poverty is a serious problem in developing countries. If they don\u2019t have access to heating, they can\u2019t cook food, they can\u2019t boil water. And children who don\u2019t have access to lighting, they can\u2019t get an education, and people can\u2019t work.[6<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo when it comes to a global energy shortage, the implications are actually far more devastating in developing countries, and we tend to forget that.\u201d<\/p>\nMuireann Lynch, an energy economist and Senior Research Officer with the Economic and Social Research Institute.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Back in Ireland, the major challenge in moving away from fossil fuels relates to how energy is consumed across our economy rather than how it is produced [1]<\/a>. We have over two million vehicles, over one and a half million houses and a quarter of a million businesses that use fossil fuels for the movement of goods and people, heating and manufacturing. This is not sustainable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In both the short and medium term, <\/strong>efforts to reduce car dependence <\/strong>and thus oil usage are the best way we can unlink our island\u00b4s economy from that of Russia and subsequently provoke the type of economic sanctions that would truly weaken it\u00b4s position against Ukraine. <\/p>\n\n\n The Climate Action Plan<\/strong> follows the Climate Act 2021, which commits Ireland to a legally binding<\/strong> target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions no later than 2050, and a reduction of 51% by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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