Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The key section in the Bill is section 6D. It provides for the alteration of carbon budgets. One of those ways is carryover. Obviously we are going to have a situation where either we exactly meet the carbon budget or our outturn is that we have over or underachieved, and the mechanism is there that the Minister must seek the advice of the Climate Change Advisory Council before making a proposal to carry forward and expand a future budget. Thus, if there has been underachievement, in other words, if the carbon budget has been exceeded and there have been more emissions than expected, then excess emissions will be automatically brought forward to the next budget, so the next carbon budget will be reduced accordingly. We have framed this Bill to provide a suitable balance of flexibility and long-term stability to support necessary investment and implementation over time. Three consecutive five-year carbon budgets budgets are set out every five years, with the third and later carbon budget of the series being set as a provisional budget. This means it can be reviewed and revised as part of finalising the next group of three carbon budgets. Therefore, while the Bill provides certainty on our long-term climate goal, a level of flexibility within these statutory structures is important and will allow, where necessary, a degree of adjustment and reorientation of carbon budgets, plans and strategies over time and within different sectors. This reflects, as acknowledged in the programme for Government, that not all measures realise our climate ambition in Ireland or other countries. This is also relevant when considering flexibility on how to address any over or underachievement towards our carbon budget ceilings and if we do not achieve our targets then emissions must be carried. Incentivising and encouraging early action, when we know early action is more cost-effective, should be allowed and encouraged.

If one looks at section 6D and the different possibilities or different situations where a carbon budget can be revised, one can see it includes situations like where we have had an agreement with the European Union to change to a new emissions obligation or we have entered into some kind of international agreement with other countries. It also allows for eventualities like where there has been a significant development in scientific knowledge on climate change. Those are all foreseeable situations but what is not foreseeable is what could happen in those situations, so the idea is to provide a level of flexibility. That is our position.