Curbing Emissions from Dublin Airport

Minister Darragh O’Brien’s comments to The Irish Times (Senior civil servants resist plan to scrap Dublin Airport passenger cap, 5 January 2026) remind us of the principal difficulty of addressing climate change: Human inability to respond to distant perils. 

In Ireland, although we know that domestic-land and sea temperatures are rising quickly, visible proof of the consequences remains limited to most. We are yet to be convinced - because this cannot be a matter of indifference - that flying overseas on holiday will endanger our climate and prospects for our children and future generations. Minister O’Brien takes cue as he balances the demands of his transport and climate portfolios, characterising Dublin Airport as “vital strategic asset” as distinct from the largest single point of greenhouse gas emissions in the State. 

There can be no reasonable doubt that removing the passenger cap will substantially increase Ireland’s GHG emissions: The DAA’s 2023 planning application to increase the cap to 40m passengers per year projected that even this smaller step would increase CO₂ emissions from the airport by 22% at 2031; and the IPCC has estimated that CO₂ contributes only roughly half of aviation’s total radiative forcing.

If physical proof of damage is limited in Ireland, numerous credible sources have cautioned against the Minister’s business-as-usual approach: For example, in 2025, IFAC and the CCAC projected that the State will have to pay between EUR8-26 billion in climate-compliance costs to other EU states if it has not taken additional measures by 2030.

The Minister should give more weight to Ireland’s climate objectives and we should fly less.