Under the State’s climate action mandate, universities will be obliged to progressively eliminate car parking for the majority of staff and students in places where a variety of public transportation options are available. This order is implemented at a time when many students claim to have to travel long distances due to the lack of accommodation.
The tertiary education sector ranks third in carbon emissions in the public sector, following schools and health, contributing about 18% of public sector emissions. The State has binding legal targets to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 51% before 2030.
Based on anecdotal reports, university heads express concern that more students are having to commute over long distances due to exorbitant rent fees and a scarcity of reasonably-priced accommodation alternatives.
College institutions like University College Dublin (UCD), the state’s largest higher education facility with around 3,500 parking spaces, are expected to be significantly affected by these requirements. Nevertheless, UCD approximates that over 80% of trips to campus are now via sustainable methods, and it has also recently made over 5,000 bike parking spaces available, rendering it “one of the largest cycling spots in Ireland”.
The Department of Further and Higher Education declares that higher education institutions themselves determine car parking policy, as they are independent entities and procure funding from a mix of both public and private sources. Yet, a spokesman confirmed that the State’s public sector climate action mandate orders the gradual discontinuation of parking in buildings with access to various public transport services. Adequate parking should remain available for staff or students with mobility issues.
The Public Sector Climate Action Strategy tasks public organizations with promoting the use of sustainable transport and obtaining a “smarter travel mark,” which demonstrates sturdy incentives and support in favour of sustainable commuting. Every university is mandated to create yearly climate action plans, outlining their contributions to carbon-reduction objectives.
Efforts to reduce transport emissions within the educational sector are being pursued through various policies, such as creating student housing, offering inexpensive public transport rates for those below the age of 26, and fostering part-time and blended learning to minimize the frequency of classroom presence, which subsequently impacts student transportation. Furthermore, any new developments or sites within further and higher education will provide access to public transport in order to reduce dependence on private vehicles.
Distinctly, there are plans to implement a large-scale retrofitting scheme, taking into account both the existing state of the structures and financial restrictions. The projected expense of enhancing buildings throughout higher education through retrofitting is just above €2 billion. However, this calculation is stronglly noted as “markedly tentative”, as data from the further education and training sector is still being compiled and the quote omits the simultaneous costs related to retrofitting.
Retrofitting, which essentially involves upgrading older structures to be more energy effective, will be instrumental in achieving national climate action objectives. The further and higher education sector has committed to eradicating approximately 32,000 tonnes of CO2 from the country’s yearly emissions by 2030.
As per the latest data from 2021, it suggests that close to 85% of the sector’s emissions come from higher education, whereas around 15% are attributed to further education.