Challenges and Opportunities in Peak Oil for a Post Carbon Ireland

Imagining a Post Carbon Ireland “Challenges and Opportunities in Peak Oil”
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Imagining a Post Carbon Ireland “Challenges and Opportunities in Peak Oil”
Ireland has had a strong dependence on imported oil as a source of its energy. Arguably, this
wide industrial dependency on imported oil has faced a challenge regarding the peak oil era,
where cheap oil supply has flooded the oil market (Forfás, 2006). This paper seeks to draw a
metaphoric image of a post-carbon Ireland while addressing challenges and opportunities in peak
oil.
The developments in the global oil markets have led to the evaluation of Ireland's dependence on
oil as the key resource in its economy. A report by the Ireland SEAL on energy consumption
gave a general statement regarding a reduction on the dependence on fossil fuels. Despite this
reduction in the dependence, the 2016 report acknowledged an increase in the industrial
consumption of coal, oil, gas and electricity – linked with the 2.7% increase in the in the
industrial economic activities. Ireland's industrial energy consumption reported that oil
contributed to an approximated 19.8% of the total energy, coal accounted for 4.5% while natural
gas accounted for 31% of the total energy requirements. Electricity, renewable sources and use
of waste accounted for 44.8% of the total energy requirement. Figure 1 shows the fossil fuel
consumption by the Ireland industries from 1990 – 2016.